NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Both the men's and women's tennis programs competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Regional Championships over the weekend, completing action in the four-day tournament on Sunday. The men's program saw three doubles tandems and a pair of singles players advance to the third day of competition, while the women's program saw freshman
Kristina Calistro continue to shine by making the Round of 16 in his first-ever appearance in the tournament.
Seniors
Tyler Clontz and
Frank Vega advanced furthest in any draw, reaching the quarterfinals of the men's main doubles bracket. The combination won all three of its matches by 8-3 margins, topping opponents from Post University, Franklin Pierce University and Daemen College.
The men's side included two more Merrimack pairings in the Round of 16: juniors
Denis Davydov and
Alex Fedorov as well as freshmen
Conrad Koch and
Jonathan Garcia. Davydov and Fedorov recorded 8-5 victories over Queens College and Saint Thomas Aquinas while the rookie duo also bested STAC in a first-round matchup before a Round of 32 win over Stonehill (8-3).
In singles, Davydov was joined by freshman
Alec Mackay Rodriguez in the Round of 16 to highlights the Warriors' efforts. Davydov won a pair of three-set tilts in his first two matches in the main draw, triumphing over opponents from UDC and Concordia. Mackay Rodriguez dispatched Kevin Huynh in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) in his opener before a three-set (6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (8)) triumph against STAC's Marcel Volz.
Calistro's singles run in the main women's draw included three-set victories against Goldey-Beacom (6-7, 7-5, 1-0) and Wilmington University (6-4, 4-6, 1-0). Sophomore
Cassie Restrepo, senior
Lauren Persson and freshman
Rosemary Campanella joined Calistro in the main draw after emerging from the qualifying draw with a pair of victories each.
In the doubles venue, Campanella and Restrepo won an opening-round contest, 8-6, over a pairing from Wilmington to reach the Round of 64. Joining Campanella and Restrepo in that round were Calistro and senior
Mana Seifaei as well as Persson and junior
Mia Briggs.
"We enjoyed our successful weekend at regionals," head coach
Dena Madden said. "Our entire roster got to experience how we match up with the rest of the region, and to see Kristina reach the third day of the competition was thrilling for the entire group. We're looking forward to learning from this weekend, and applying it to the rest of our championship season in the weeks ahead!"
Other notes from the men's side included all 12 players that Merrimack entered recorded at least one main draw victory. All of the Warriors' doubles entries won at least one match. Three doubles pairings and two singles players reached the third day of the four-day competition
Head coach
Alex Loyer commented, "I'm really proud of the way our team competed at this tournament. It's a very tough tournament with 12 hour days in hot weather. Our guys prepared well, competed hard, and didn't make excuses. To bring 12 guys to a regional tournament and have all 12 guys get at least one main draw win is a huge accomplishment and we're excited to build on our success in this tournament through the rest of the year."
The women's tennis program returns to action this week with a match at the University of Rhode Island on Thursday afternoon. The men's squad continues its fall slate on Thursday, Sept. 27, when the Warriors travel to Saint Anselm for a Northeast-10 Conference match at 3 p.m. in Manchester, N.H.
