RINDGE, N.H. (April 25, 2003) - The Franklin Pierce men's tennis team, ranked No. 6 in the East region claimed its third straight Northeast-10 Conference playoff bid as the #3 seed in this weekend's Conference tournament. The Ravens will face sixth-seeded Stonehill tomorrow at the East Hartford Racquet Club in East Hartford, Conn. at 10 a.m. The team earns its third consecutive trip to the Northeast-10 Conference tournament since joining the Conference in 2000.

In a schedule packed with regionally ranked as well as nationally ranked opponents, Franklin Pierce closed out the Northeast-10 Conference regular season with a 14-10 record overall, 9-2 finish in the Conference. The Ravens faced eight out of the ten ranked teams in the East Region and posted its biggest win of the season, a 5-3 victory over No. 4-ranked Concordia at the Bloomsburg Duels on April 5. Earlier in the tournament, the Ravens narrowly missed clinching their third win against a regionally ranked opponent, falling to No. 5-ranked Queens College, 5-4.

The Ravens tore through the Northeast-10 Conference schedule, posting five-straight Conference wins midway through the season. The team has suffered just two losses at the hands of Northeast-10 Conference opponents, with the first coming to No. 2-ranked Assumption College in late February. The second loss came to an up-and-coming Bryant College team that finished second in the Northeast-10 Conference this spring.

The 2003 squad is led by senior tri-captains, Michael Hoffner (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), Ricky Sanford (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) and Art Shannon (Danvers, Mass./Danvers). The trio served as a backbone of this year's team and have all stepped up this season to clinch key wins for the Ravens. Hoffner posted a 9-12 combined record (7-3 NE-10) in his singles matches, primarily playing at the #2 seed. He also anchored a very successful #3 doubles team that finished with an 11-6 overall record, 7-2 clip in the Conference. Hoffner came through for the Ravens in a big way in the matchup against No. 9-ranked Bentley College on April 17. Hoffner came back from a 6-1 loss in the first set to post a three-set win at #2 doubles and lift the Ravens past the Falcons, 5-4.

Sanford registered an 11-10 overall record at the #3 singles seed, with an 8-3 mark in the Conference. An outstanding doubles player, Sanford and junior Darko Minic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) recorded a 13-6 record at the #1 seed, which has earned the duo a No. 3 ranking in the East Region.

Shannon has been the team's most consistent performer this season with an outstanding 20-2 combined record in his singles matches. Shannon, an All-Northeast-10 Conference selection last season, closed out the 2003 regular season with 15 consecutive wins at singles. For his efforts, Shannon copped his third Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week honor last week. Shannon was also a strong performer in his doubles matches, posting a 15-5 (9-1 NE-10) record with sophomore Maciej Szpakowski (Ciezyn, Poland/Mattituck (N.Y.)) at the #2 spot.

Minic, Szpakowski, sophomore Ryan Jones (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) and junior J.P. Morgan (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays) round out the 2003 men's tennis team. Minic sports a 7-15 record at the #1 singles spot, boasting a 6-5 clip in Conference play. Szpakowski has been a clutch performer in his singles matches with a 13-7 combined record at the #3 and #4 seed.

Jones has been a pleasant surprise this season with a 10-8 (7-2 NE-10) combined record in his singles matches. Morgan saw limited action this season, but came through for the Ravens when needed, posting a perfect 3-0 record at the #4 and #6 seeds.

The Ravens open up play at the Northeast-10 Conference tournament on Saturday morning against #6 seeded Stonehill College. Stonehill finished the Northeast-10 Conference regular season with a 6-7 record overall, 6-5 in the Conference. The Chieftains ended the regular season on a high note, with four-straight wins, including three shutouts, against Conference opponents.

The Chieftains are led by juniors Jack Granato and Pat Blomburg. Granato and Blomburg both boast the teams' best record at singles with a 10-3 clip at #1 and #4 singles, respectively. Granato is also one of the team's top doubles players with six wins at the #1 seed.

In their only regular season meeting on March 25, the Ravens clinched a 7-2 victory on the Chieftains home courts. The team was led to its second Conference win of the season by Shannon and Szpakowski, who both posted two-set wins in their singles matches after shutting down Brandan Towers and Blomburg, 8-0, at #2 doubles. Stonehill's lone wins came from Granato, who recorded a 6-3 win at singles after teaming up with senior Jon Palmer for an 8-6 win at doubles.

The winner of tomorrow's quarterfinal match will advance to the Conference semifinals on Saturday at the Shrewsbury Racquet Club in Shrewsbury, Mass., and face the winner of tomorrow's match between second-seeded Bryant College and seventh-seeded Pace University (Worcester, Mass., 3:30 p.m.) at 5 p.m. The NE-10 Championship match will be at the Shrewsbury Racquet Club on Sunday at 5 p.m.

2003 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Tennis Championship

QUARTERFINALS:
Friday, April 25 (Assumption College, Worcester, Mass.)
Match 1: #1 Assumption (13-1, 11-0 NE-10) vs. #8 Saint Anselm (4-9, 4-7 NE-10)
Match 2: #2 Bryant (12-2, 10-1 NE-10) vs. #7 Pace (5-6, 5-6 NE-10)
Saturday, April 26 (East Hartford Racquet Club, East Hartford, Conn.)
Match 3: #4 Bentley (10-6, 8-3 NE-10) vs. #5 LeMoyne (11-7, 7-4 NE-10)
Match 4: #3 Franklin Pierce (14-10, 9-2 NE-10) vs. #6 Stonehill (6-7, 6-5 NE-10)

SEMIFINALS:
Saturday, April 26 (Shrewsbury Racquet Club, Shrewsbury, Mass.)
Match 5: Assumption/Saint Anselm winner vs. Bentley/LeMoyne winner, 2 p.m.
Match 6: Franklin Pierce/Stonehill winner vs. Bryant/Pace winner, 5 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP:
Sunday, April 27 (Shrewsbury Racquet Club, Shrewsbury, Mass.)
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.