Franklin Pierce Shoots Past Stonehill, 5-1
Ravens advance to Northeast-10 Conference Semifinals with the win
MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 20, 2002) - The Franklin Pierce men's tennis team advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Semifinals with a 5-1 win over the seventh seed, Stonehill College, in Northeast-10 Conference Tournament action at Saint Anselm College this afternoon.
Junior Art Shannon (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) continued his hot play at #5 singles, as he improved to a perfect 12-0 record in his League singles matches with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Stonehill's Pat Blomberg. Shannon also secured an 8-6 win at #2 doubles with partner Matt Szpakowski (Cutchougue, N.Y./Mattituck), who went on to notch a two set win at #4 singles.
Junior Ricky Sanford (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) posted a 6-4, 6-1 win at #3 singles and teammates Darko Minic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia/XII Belgrade Gimnasium) and Pat Teague (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) recorded an 8-1 win at #3 doubles to help the cause.
Franklin Pierce (15-9, 11-2 NE-10) will next face the winner of the #3 Bryant/#6 Pace matchup later this afternoon.
| Singles | Winner | Set 1 | Set 2 |
| Ricky Sanford (FP) vs. Brian Plain (STO) | FP | 6-4 | 6-1 |
| Matt Szpakowski (FP) vs. Brandan Towers (STO) | FP | 6-3 | 7-5 |
| Art Shannon (FP) vs. Pat Blomberg (SC) | FP | 6-2 | 6-4 |
| Doubles | Winner | Set |
| Hoffner/Sanford (FP) vs. Granato/Plain (STO) | STO | 8-5 |
| Szpakowski/Shannon (FP) vs. Wehrenburg/Palmer (STO) | FP | 8-6 |
| Minic/Teague (FP) vs. Towers/Charland (STO) | FP | 8-1 |