| Matchup |
Merrimack (15-8) vs. Stonehill (12-9) |
| Date//Time |
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 // 2:00 p.m. |
| Venue |
Northeast Tennis Center // Middleton, Mass. |
| Multimedia |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's tennis program begins its trek towards a potential fourth Northeast-10 Conference tournament championship this week when the third-seeded Warriors face sixth-seeded Stonehill College on Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the NE10 Championship.
The contest is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start time at the Saint Anselm College Tennis Courts in Manchester, N.H. If the match is forced indoors because of weather, the tilt will be played at Northeast Tennis Center in Middleton, Mass. at 2 p.m. An official decision on the match location will be made tomorrow morning.
Update (4/30): The contest has been moved indoors to the Northeast Tennis Center and will begin at 2 p.m. in Middleton, Mass.
2019 NE10 Championship Schedule
Tuesday, April 30th (First Round)
Match 1: #6 Stonehill at #3 Merrimack, 3:30 pm
Match 2: #5 Franklin Pierce at #4 Le Moyne (Syracuse University campus, 2:00 pm *
Thursday, May 2nd (Semifinals)
Match 3: Winner of Match 1 at #2 Bentley, 2:00 pm *
Match 4: Winner of Match 2 at #1 Southern New Hampshire, 2:00 pm *
*Please note that 2pm is listed time for outdoor play; should matches be moved inside due to inclement weather, times may change.
Saturday, May 4th (Championship at Highest Remaining Seed)
Match 5: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner TBD at Higher Seed
Five Things to Know:
- The Warriors enjoyed another strong spring season on the heels of a fall semester that saw the program pick up a pair of regional wins including a NE10 triumph over Saint Anselm. Merrimack enters the league tournament with 15 total victories – tied for the third most in school history – and received the team's first-ever national ranking this spring as well
- It has been an award-filled season for the Warriors, as well. Junior Denis Davydov won three NE10 Player of the Week honors this spring, on top of the two he received in the fall semester. The freshmen triumvirate of Jonathan Garcia, Conrad Koch and Alec Mackay Rodriguez all received recognition as well. Garcia received four NE10 Rookie of the Week nods, including two this spring. Koch won the honor twice in a span of three weeks in March while Mackay Rodriguez received the award once in the fall
- Junior Alex Fedorov leads the team in total wins with 36 this season, tying for the team lead in singles wins (17) and doubles triumphs (19). He picked up his 100th career victory earlier this season, as well. He shares the team lead in singles wins with Davydov, who's 17 victories includes an impressive 15-5 ledger at first singles and 5-2 mark in NE10 play. Davydov also boasts 18 doubles wins, a 7-1 NE10 record and 12-6 overall mark at the first flight
- Garcia's 19 doubles wins equals his partner (Fedorov) for the most on the team. Merrimack's regular No. 2 duo enter the conference tournament with wins in 11 of their last 12 matches overall. The Dublin, Ireland native also completed the regular season with 12 singles wins and a 6-2 mark in NE10 play
- The rest of Merrimack's lineup filled in impressively, as well. Koch notched an 18-9 doubles record including seven wins in NE10 play. He added a 16-7 singles record with a combined 11-4 record between the fourth and fifth flights. Merrimack's third doubles pairing of Mackay Rodriguez and freshman Marshall Wood won 10 of their 15 matches together including six league triumphs; Mackay Rodriguez also won six of seven matches at No. 5 singles. Classmate Andre Singer played 11 total matches at sixth singles, posting a 6-5 overall record
Inside the Matchup:
- Merrimack dominated the regular season against the Skyhawks, winning in shutout fashion (7-0)
- All three doubles matches went in the Warriors favor, including a 6-0 blanking at third doubles, a three-game win (6-3) at the first flight and a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles to complete the sweep
- Five of the six singles matches finished in two sets. Mackay Rodriguez posted the most dominant effort at No. 5, conceding just two total games (6-0, 6-2). Garcia edged his opposition at No. 2, 6-4, in his first set before a 6-0 shutout to clinch the flight. Davydov won a pair of 6-3 sets at No. 1 to down Stonehill's top option
- Junior Paul Weidinger notched at two-set win at sixth singles, 6-2 and 6-4, as did Koch at the fourth flight (6-3, 6-2). Fedorov's match was the only contest to reach a third-flight, which was decided in dominating fashion for the Warriors' junior, 10-1
Up Next
With a win, Merrimack advances to the conference semifinals to face second-seeded Bentley in a 2 p.m. match in Waltham, Mass. The Warriors defeated the Falcons in the regular season, 4-3
