Colchester, Vt. (4/26/22) – It was the opening day of the NE10 men's tennis tournament on Tuesday afternoon, where the fifth-ranked Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team advanced to the semifinal round for the second straight season, upending #4 Saint Michael's on the road by a final score of 4-1. 

Franklin Pierce moves to 7-8 (4-4 NE10) and advances to play top seeded Le Moyne College, who received a bye into the the semifinal round. Saint Michael's concludes their season with a 7-10 (2-5 NE10) overall record.

The match opened with some doubles action, which saw Franklin Pierce's Ivan Bernal (Madrid, Spain) and Kevin Denecheau (Artigueloutan, France) decisively defeat Purple Knight opponents Sergio Barroso and Jason Boucher, 6-1 on court two. In quick succession, graduate Felipe Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and junior Alejandro Ortiz (Madrid, Spain) toppled Saint Mike's pairing of Jackson Moser and Michael Rosen in first singles to earn the doubles clinch, also winning 6-1. The pair of wins marks the eighth consecutive doubles victory for Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce closed out the contest with a trio of wins in singles, leaving two matches unfinished with the final score. The Ravens opened the solo play with a 6-4, 6-2 win from Felipe Carvalho in first singles, which was swiftly followed with the only win on the afternoon for the Purple Knights from junior Josh Weiss at second singles. At third singles, Kevin Denecheau returned to battle through three close sets, defeating Sergio Barroso 6-3 in both the first and third sets.

Franklin Pierce's Nkrumah Patrick (Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago) delivered the final blow with a nail-biting victory in three sets, splitting the first two sets with opponent Jason Boucher by scores of 6-1 and 7-5. Patrick emerged the victor in the tiebreaking third set, finalizing the decision with a 6-4 win.

The semifinal round with Le Moyne College will be played this Thursday, April 28^th with a match start time of 2 PM E.T.