MILFORD, N.H. (April 27, 2019) – The Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team wrapped up the Northeast-10 Conference regular season in style on Saturday afternoon, as the Ravens picked up a 6-1 win over Merrimack, which was ranked fourth in this week's NCAA East Region rankings. Due to wet weather in the area, the match was contested at Hampshire Hills Athletic Club.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 12-8 (6-3 NE10), while Merrimack falls to 15-8 (7-2 NE10). Both teams have qualified for next week's NE10 Championship, with Merrimack earning the third seed and Franklin Pierce taking the fifth seed. The Ravens will open their second consecutive postseason on the road in the first round on Tuesday, April 30, when they travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to meet fourth-seeded Le Moyne at 2 p.m.

Merrimack took two of the three doubles matches to claim the doubles point, with all three matches being tightly-contested. At first doubles, Merrimack junior Denis Davydov and freshman Conrad Koch squeaked past sophomores Roberto Chong (Puigpunyent, Spain) and Nkrumah Patrick (Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago), 6-4. It was also a 6-4 score at second doubles, where freshman Jonathan Garcia and junior Alex Fedorov bettered junior Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel) and freshman Preston Gordon (Essex Junction, Vt.). At third doubles, seniors Andrew Schadt (Tolland, Conn.) and James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) notched a 7-6 win for Franklin Pierce over freshmen Alec Mackay Rodriguez and Marshall Wood.

Franklin Pierce made its hay in singles play on Saturday, as the Ravens took all four singles matches which were completed, including a pair of three-set affairs. First singles was an instant classic which included a pair of tiebreaks, as Chong eventually pulled out a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Davydov. Fourth singles went three sets as well, but only required one tiebreak, with Patrick posting a 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-3 win over Koch.

Franklin Pierce also posted straight-set victories at second and third singles. At second singles, Bisazza went past Garcia, 7-5, 6-1. At third singles, Gordon took care of Fedorov, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Merrimack defaulted at fifth and sixth singles, as Warriors head coach Alex Loyer elected to pull his team off the courts after Franklin Pierce earned the fourth point to clinch the team match. 

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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 (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).