| Matchup |
#5 Merrimack (14-9) vs.
#4 Southern New Hampshire (15-6)
|
| Date//Time |
Monday, April 30, 2018 // 10:00 a.m. |
| Venue |
Meyers Tennis Center (Bronxville, N.Y.) |
| Multimedia |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Continuing the East Region's second longest streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the Merrimack College men's tennis program will appear in its 11
th straight national tournament and will be the fifth seed in the East Region. The Warriors will go up against a familiar foe, taking on fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire on Monday morning at 10 a.m. in the opening round of regional play. Top-seeded Concordia will host the match at the Meyers Tennis Center on campus, with the victor advancing to face the Clippers in the second round on Tuesday.
2018 NCAA East Region I Schedule
First Round – Monday, April 30
Match 1: #5 Merrimack vs. #4 SNHU – 10:00 a.m.
Second Round – Tuesday, May 1
Match 2: Winner of Match 1 vs. #1 Concordia – 10:00 a.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
- The Warriors finished the regular season with 14 total victories, the fifth time this decade that the program posted at least 14 wins in a campaign
- The Navy and Gold started the spring with a trio of 5-4 regional wins over Roberts Wesleyan, Le Moyne and Chestnut Hill – avenging last year's NCAA defeat to the Griffins – to position themselves well in the regional polls to come
- In NE10 play, the Navy and Gold marched through their first eight opponents to set up a winner-take-all contest between the Warriors and Penmen to decide the conference regular season championship. SNHU bested Merrimack to claim the title, 7-2
- Last week in the NE10 Championship, the Navy and Gold made quick work of Le Moyne in the semifinals to reach their second NE10 Final in as many seasons. The Warriors then gave the Penmen a run for their money, winning two singles flights before forcing three others to three-set matches. The top-seeded hosts recovered to win at the first flight to take home a 5-2 win
Inside the Matchup:
- Monday will mark the third match in the last 16 days between Merrimack and SNHU
- Each match played out differently. The regular season meeting saw the Warriors win twice in the doubles flight, but the Penmen played superior tennis in singles to come-from-behind and win
- The NE10 Final was flipped, with the Penmen sweeping doubles. It was Merrimack who arguably played better tennis overall during singles, but SNHU only needed the two points to clinch the match. Davydov dominated the second flight, in particular, conceding only one game to defeat the Penmen's No. 2 option who did not lose in singles during the NE10 regular season
- Monday will mark the second-ever NCAA Tournament match between the Warriors and Penmen
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
- Since 2007, Vega ranks fifth all-time in victories (104), while Belov slots in at the No. 7 spot with 101 wins
- Merrimack boasts a 5-10 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament including a 5-5 mark in the opening round
- The fifth seed marks the program's highest seeding since the 2014-15 campaign that featured the program's last NCAA win, a 5-1 triumph over Adelphi with the Navy and Gold as the three-seed
- Merrimack's only matchup with the Penmen in NCAA play came five years ago, with the Warriors winning in 5-3 fashion to reach the second round
Up Next
If Merrimack wins, the Navy and Gold will face top-seeded Concordia at 10 a.m. The victor of that second-round match will advance to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, which will occur in Surprise, Ariz. beginning on Wednesday, May 9.
