NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Freshman
Aryaan Bhatia of the Merrimack College men's tennis team was named Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week following his performance against Sacred Heart over the weekend.
Bhatia is the second Warriors newcomer to be named the NEC's top rookie this spring, joining classmate
Jan Semerak who was named NEC Rookie of the Month in the first awards cycle of the season.
In dramatic fasion, Bhatia recorded his first collegiate singles win on Saturday against the Pioneers. He rallied for a three-set win at second singles to clinch a 4-3 come-from-behind win for Merrimack against its NEC rivals. Bhatia won in a tiebreak in the second set to force a match-deciding third set, which Bhatia won in dominant fashion (6-0). The set scores in the match were 5-7, 7-6 (4), and 6-0.
Bhatia and the Warriors return to action this Sunday when Merrimack visits Fairfield University for a 1 p.m. match.
