RINDGE, N.H. (April 16, 2018) – For the first time since 2005, the Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team will return to the postseason on Tuesday afternoon, as the fourth-seeded Ravens take on fifth-seeded Bentley in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Due to inclement weather, the match has been relocated to the Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly, Mass., and will begin at 11:30 a.m.

Franklin Pierce (10-10) returns to the postseason for the first time in over a decade, but had success in its previous appearances. In all, the Ravens have appeared in the NE10 Championship on five occasions. They have made four trips to the semifinals and finished as the runner-up in both 2003 and 2005. Meanwhile, Bentley (14-9) heads to the NE10 Championship for the 18^th time. The Falcons have advanced to the championship match on six occasions and claimed the 2010 and 2011 NE10 titles. 

Northeast-10 Championship
(seeds in parentheses) 

Tuesday, April 17
Match 1: (5) Bentley vs. (4) Franklin Pierce -- 11:30 a.m.
Match 1 to be held at Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly, Mass.
Match 2: (6) Stonehill at (3) Le Moyne -- 2 p.m.* 

Thursday, April 19
Match 3: Match 1 Winner at (1) Southern New Hampshire -- 2 p.m.*
Match 4: Match 2 Winner at (2) Merrimack -- 2 p.m.* 

Saturday, April 21
Match 5: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner -- 1 p.m.*
Championship match hosted by highest remaining seed.
* - All times subject to change based on weather.

Scouting the Ravens

Franklin Pierce put together a 5-4 record in NE10 play this spring, which marked the team's first finish above .500 in the league since the 2005 campaign. The mark was identical to Bentley's league record, and the Ravens claimed the fourth seed based on their 5-4 win over the Falcons at home on April 7.

The Ravens are led by freshman Roberto Chong (Puigpunyent, Spain), junior James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) and sophomore Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel), who played the NE10 schedule exclusively at first, second and third singles, respectively. Chong put together a 6-3 mark at first singles, Bisazza tallied an impressive, 8-1 record at second singles, and Barak finished above .500 at 5-4 at third singles. In all, Franklin Pierce went 30-24 (.556) in singles play against NE10 competition.

The Ravens struggled a little more on the doubles side of things, as they have mixed and matched partnerships over the course of the season on the way to a 13-14 (.481) mark in NE10 play. The pairing of Bisazza and junior Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) found success early in the season, as they went 3-0 at second doubles, but otherwise, all of Franklin Pierce's doubles pairings have hovered within a match or two of .500.

Scouting the Falcons

On the other side of the ledger, the Falcons also finished 5-4 in NE10 play and wrapped up the regular season with a 5-4 win at home against Adelphi on Saturday, a loss which ultimately knocked the Panthers out of the postseason picture.

For Bentley, senior Brendan McCarthy, senior George Samander and junior Dylan Granat have carried most of the load at first through third singles, in that order. However, Samander is the only one of the three to finish above .500 against NE10 opposition, as he went 5-4 at second singles. McCarthy managed just a 3-6 mark at first singles, while Granat went 3-5 at third singles. Despite shuffling players around, the Falcons have found success at fourth through sixth singles and ultimately put together an NE10 singles record four matches better than Franklin Pierce's, at 34-20 (.630).

The Falcons also put together a .630 winning percentage in NE10 doubles play, where they went 17-10. The only year-long doubles partnership for Bentley came at first doubles, where McCarthy and Samander went 6-3. At second doubles, juniors Michael Fuca and Brett Gilman paired up in mid-March and put together a 4-2 mark the rest of the way.

Earlier this Season

The two teams met on April 7 at Franklin Pierce, with the Ravens grinding out a 5-4 victory.

The match ultimately turned on a trio of three-set singles matches, with Franklin Pierce pulling out wins in two of the three. At third singles, Barak slipped past Granat in a back-and-forth affair, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Meanwhile, junior Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.) provided the decisive blow at fifth singles, as he was able to pull out a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 7-5 win over Fuca.

As it turned out, one of the most-competitive matches, in a team match decided by just one point, came in the very first match of the day. First doubles went all the way to a tiebreak, and then deep into the tiebreak, before Chong and Schadt came away with a 9-8 (6) win over McCarthy and Samander. Otherwise, Bentley dominated doubles play, with Fuca and Gilman rolling to an 8-1 win at second doubles, and Granat and freshman Connor Aulson tallying an 8-3 win at third doubles.

Headed to the Match?

If you plan on making the trip to Beverly on Tuesday afternoon, directions to the Bass River Tennis Club can be found here: http://bassrivertennisclub.com/hoursmap.html

No admission fee will be charged.

Up Next

The winner of Tuesday's first round match will advance to take on top-seeded Southern New Hampshire on the road in the semifinal round on Thursday, April 19, at 2 p.m. The Penmen are the two-time defending NE10 champions and have not lost an NE10 match in either the regular season or the postseason since the end of the 2015 campaign.

Tuesday's other first round contest features sixth-seeded Stonehill traveling to meet third-seeded Le Moyne. The winner of that match will advance to visit second-seeded Merrimack on Thursday.

The winners of the two semifinal matches will meet on the campus of the highest remaining seed for the NE10 title match on Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).