Men’s Tennis Falls at Franklin Pierce; Warriors to Open NE10 Championship Tuesday vs. Stonehill

MILFORD, N.H. –  The Merrimack College men's tennis program lost in its regular season finale on Saturday at Franklin Pierce, playing indoors at the Hampshire Hills Athletic Club in Milford, N.H. The Warriors finished the regular season with a 15-8 overall record and seven wins in Northeast-10 Conference play.

The team earned the No. 3 seed in next week's NE10 Championship and will play in the opening round on Tuesday afternoon (2 p.m.) against sixth-seeded Stonehill College. An official match location will be announced as soon as it is known.

The Basics
Score: Franklin Pierce 6, Merrimack 1
Records: Merrimack (15-8, 7-2 NE10) | Franklin Pierce (12-8, 6-3 NE10)
Location: Milford, N.H. | Hampshire Hills Athletic Club

Results
Doubles

1. Denis Davydov/Conrad Koch (MERM) def. Roberto Chong/Nkrumah Patrick (FPU) 6-4

2. Jonathan Garcia/Alex Fedorov (MERM) def. Yuval Barak/Preston Gordon (FPU) 6-4

3. Andrew Schadt/James Bisazza (FPU) def. A. Mackay Rodriguez/Marshall Wood (MERM) 7-6

Singles

1. Roberto Chong (FPU) def. Denis Davydov (MERM) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)

2. James Bisazza (FPU) def. Jonathan Garcia (MERM) 7-5, 6-1

3. Preston Gordon (FPU) def. Alex Fedorov (MERM) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)

4. Nkrumah Patrick (FPU) def. Conrad Koch (MERM) 7-6 (7-2), 1-6, 6-3

Rapid Recap

• Merrimack started the match strongly, winning the doubles point. The matches finished in flight order: The Warriors' first pairing of junior Denis Davydov and freshman Conrad Koch won by a 6-4 margin, which was followed by another 6-4 win at second doubles by junior Alex Fedorov and freshman Jonathan Garcia. The Warriors took a 1-0 lead into singles
• Two of the four singles matches played went the distance. Two-set victories for the Ravens at second and third singles gave Franklin Pierce a 2-1 lead in the match
• A back-and-forth match at first singles finished next. Davydov won his first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), but dropped his second frame by two games to force a final frame. The junior then took his final set to a tiebreaker as well, but saw Franklin Pierce prevail, 7-6 (3)
• Fourth singles clinched the match for the hosts. Koch recovered for a first-set defeat, 7-6 (2), to force a third. He dominated the middle frame, 6-1, by suffered a 6-3 defeat in the final set

Up Next
The Warriors meet Stonehill on Tuesday to begin postseason play, with a match time currently set at 2 p.m. An announcement will be made as soon as a match location is known. Merrimack handled the Skyhawks in the regular season, 7-0.