Men’s Tennis Clinches Top-Two Seed in NE10 Championship with 7-2 Win at Stonehill

Links: Box Score  

EASTON, MASS. – The Merrimack College men's tennis team clinched a top-two seed and a first-round bye in the NE10 Championship on Sunday afternoon when the Warriors dispatched Stonehill, 7-2, from the Charles Watt Tennis Courts in Easton, Mass. The Navy and Gold enter the final week of the regular season with a 7-0 NE10 ledger with two matches remaining, including a potential showdown for the NE10 Regular Season Championship against Southern New Hampshire on Saturday. 

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 7, Stonehill 2
Records: Merrimack (12-7, 7-0 NE10) | Stonehill (9-7, 3-4 NE10)
Location: Easton, Mass. | Charles Watt Tennis Courts

Results
Doubles

1. Mikhail Belov/Frank Vega (MERM) def. Thomas Bellio/Trent Newman (STO) 8-5 2. Denis Davydov/Alex Fedorov (MERM) def. Russell White/ManuRavichandrakumar (STO) 8-3 3. Nikolay Lisichenok/Tom Buckley (STO) def. Tyler Clontz/Paul Weidinger (MERM) 8-3

Singles

1. Mikhail Belov (MERM) def. Thomas Bellio (STO) 6-4, 6-2 2. Denis Davydov (MERM) def. Trent Newman (STO) 6-3, 6-3 3. Russell White (STO) def. Frank Vega (MERM) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 4. Alex Fedorov (MERM) def. ManuRavichandrakumar (STO) 6-3, 6-4 5. Tyler Clontz (MERM) def. Nikolay Lisichenok (STO) 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 6. Paul Weidinger (MERM) def. Tom Buckley (STO) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)

NE10 Postseason Outlook
The top-six programs in the final NE10 men's tennis standings advance to the NE10 Championship. The top-two seeds earn byes to the semifinals (Apr. 19) while seeds No. 3-6 begin the tournament with first-round action on Tuesday, April 17

1. Merrimack (7-0)
2. SNHU (5-0)
3. Le Moyne (6-2)
4. Bentley (4-3)
5. Franklin Pierce (4-3)
6. Adelphi (4-3)
7. Stonehill (3-4)
8. Assumption (2-4)
9. Saint Anselm (1-8)
10. Saint Michael's (0-9)

Rapid Recap

• The Warriors increased their season-long winning streak to four matches with Sunday's win. The Navy and Gold took a 2-1 lead into singles after seniors Mikhail Belov and Frank Vega won the first flight (8-5) and junior Alex Fedorov and sophomore Denis Davydov won at No. 2, 8-3
• Belov picked up his fourth straight singles win in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-2, at the top flight. Fedorov did the same, claiming set wins of 6-3 and 6-4 at third singles
• Davydov's match at No. 2 singles gave the Warriors the win, with the Russian native picking up a two-set triumph (6-3, 6-3)
• Junior Tyler Clontz won in three sets at fifth singles, claiming a third-set tiebreaker, 10-6. Sophomore Paul Weidinger picked up a win at No. 6 (6-2, 7-6)

Up Next:
The Warriors celebrate the careers of Belov and Vega with Senior Day on Wednesday afternoon when Merrimack hosts Adelphi University at 12:30 p.m. from Northeast Tennis Center in Middleton, Mass.