| Matchup |
Merrimack (14-8) at
Southern New Hampshire (14-6) |
| Date//Time |
Saturday, April 21, 2018 // 1:00 p.m. |
| Venue |
Penmen Stadium Tennis Courts (Manchester, N.H.) |
| Multimedia |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – For the eighth time in 10 years, sixth time in seven and second consecutive season overall, the Merrimack College men's tennis program returns to the Northeast-10 Conference Final where the second-seeded Warriors face top-seeded Southern New Hampshire for a crack at the NE10 Championship. Saturday will be a rematch of the 2016 NE10 Final, which saw the Penmen prevail of the Warriors to capture the conference title.
2018 NE10 Men's Tennis Championship Schedule
Tuesday, April 17th
First Round
Match 1: #3 Le Moyne 5, #6 Stonehill 0
Match 2: #5 Bentley 5, #4 Franklin Pierce 1
Thursday, April 19th
Semifinals
Match 3: #2 Merrimack 5, Le Moyne 1
Match 4: #1 Southern New Hampshire 5, #5 Bentley 1
Saturday, April 21st
Championship
Match 5: #2 Merrimack at Southern New Hampshire | 1:00 p.m.
How They Got Here:
- The Warriors entered the spring with a six-player lineup headlined by seniors Mikhail Belov and Frank Vega along with reigning NE10 Rookie of the Year Alex Fedorov. Sophomore transfers Denis Davydov and Paul Weidinger joined the lineup for their first championship season, and the return of junior Tyler Clontz filled out the remainder of Merrimack's roster
- Merrimack dominated singles, and took two of three doubles matches in Thursday's NE10 Semifinal win against Le Moyne, 5-1. The closest match came at first doubles with the match squared at a point apiece. Belov and Vega faced a 7-5 deficit, but won three straight games to get back in the match. The duo then won in a tiebreak, 7-4, to win the flight, 9-8
- One of the highlights of the regular season came in non-league action, when Merrimack avenged last season's loss in the NCAA Tournament to Chestnut Hill, 5-4. The Warriors won twice during doubles and Belov, Davydov and Fedorov prevailed at No. 1-3 singles
- Merrimack won its first eight NE10 matches of the spring to solidify its top-two finish in the conference. The Navy and Gold won by at least five points in six of the eight wins, dominating most of their conference opposition
Inside the Matchup:
- The Warriors won the doubles portion of the match, 2-1, against SNHU in the regular season. The Penmen recovered to take all the singles matches, however, to win 7-2
- Belov and Vega prevailed at first doubles, 8-5, and the combination of Davydov and Fedorov took an 8-2 win at No. 2
- Both Davydov and Weidinger won their opening sets in singles, but lost in three frames. Vega was forced to retire at fourth singles, giving the Penmen an uncontested win
- The Penmen enter the weekend ranked fourth regionally, while the Warriors are fifth in the region. Both programs are expected to reach the NCAA Tournament
Mack Facts:
- Five Warriors earned all-conference recognition, headlined by undefeated doubles campaigns and NE10 All-Conference First Team selections for the tandems of Belov and Vega (No. 1 doubles) as well as Davydov and Fedorov (No. 2 doubles)
- In singles, Belov (#1), Fedorov (#3) and Weidinger (#6) all earned spots on the all-league second team. Davydov (#2) and Vega (#4) each landed on the all-conference third team
- Vega capped off his senior season with his 100th career win on Senior Day against Adelphi, becoming the sixth Warrior in the last 11 years to reach the century mark. Belov reached the century mark with the doubles win against the Dolphins
- The Warriors have won three NE10 Championships since 2012 (2012, 2013, 2015), while reaching the NE10 Final in 2014 and 2017
- The Navy and Gold have made 10 consecutive NCAA Tournaments entering 2018, which is the second longest active streak in the East Region
Up Next
The Warriors will await their NCAA Tournament fate, with the East Region unveiled Tuesday night during the NCAA Division II Selection Show.
