Franklin Pierce Ready for NE-10’s With Win
RINDGE, N.H. (April 19, 2001) - The Franklin Pierce men's tennis team defeated Bentley College, 7-2, in a Northeast-10 Conference dual this afternoon.
The Ravens, competing on their home courts for the first time in nearly a month, swept all three doubles matches to set the tables for the victory and then clinched by taking four of the six singles matches.
Senior Tom Hennessey (Manchester, N.H./Tilton Academy), sophomores Michael Hoffner (Wantaugh, N.Y./Wantaugh) and Art Shannon (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) and freshman Darko Minic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) also posted singles victories for the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce (13-8, 8-3 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday, when it participates in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament hosted by Bryant College in Smithfield, R.I. The No. 4-seeded Ravens will face the winner of Friday's play-in game between No. 5 Bentley College and No. 8 Merrimack College at 8 a.m. With a victory, Franklin Pierce will advance to face No. 1 Assumption College later in the day at 1 p.m. The NE-10 Championship will be decided on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
| Match | Outcome | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
| #1 Singles | Ivan Eskildsen (BC) def. Brian Kuscher (FP) | 5-7 | 6-2 | 6-1 |
| #2 Singles | Tom Hennessey (FP) def. Mike Luchini (BC) | 6-3 | 6-0 | |
| #3 Singles | Darko Minic (FP) def. Andreas Pappas (BC) | 6-3 | 6-3 | |
| #4 Singles | Michael Hoffner (FP) def. Barrett Alston (BC) | 7-5 | 6-2 | |
| #5 Singles | Art Shannon (FP) def. Drew Bryson (BC) FP | 6-1 | 6-3 | |
| #6 Singles | Greg Ranieri (BC) def. Tim Simmons (FP) | 6-3 | 7-5 |
| #1 Doubles | Kuscher/Hennessey (FP) def. Eskildsen/Luchini (BC) | 8-6 |
| #2 Doubles | Minic/Hoffner (FP) vs. Pappas/Bryson (BC) | 8-4 |
| #3 Doubles | Shannon/Ricky Sanford (FP) def. Alston/Andrew Murray (BC) | 8-2 |