BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH JUNIOR TIAGO FERNANDES
When and Where: April 22, 2017 – Manchester, N.H. (SNHU Tennis Courts)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 5, Merrimack College 1
Records: SNHU 16-6, Merrimack 10-9
Junior Tiago Fernandes (Porto, Portugal) was victorious at No. 1 singles to clinch the match and earn Most Valuable Player of the Northeast-10 Championship, as the top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University men's tennis team rolled over Merrimack College, 5-1, to capture its second straight NE10 Championship on Saturday afternoon at the SNHU Tennis Courts.
Southern New Hampshire earns its third NE10 title – all coming in the last four years – in its fifth appearance in the championship match. Merrimack, meanwhile, misses out on a chance to claim its fourth title in six seasons as it falls to 3-4, lifetime, in the finals.
The Penmen jumped out early as Fernandes and classmate Ricardo Marreiros (Portimao, Portugal) posted an 8-3 No. 1 doubles win against Nick Majewski and Mikhail Belov. After Merrimack evened the match, SNHU took a 2-1 lead into singles play as freshman Bas van Biezen (Sassenheim, Netherlands) and junior Jeremy Reichentahl (Cheshire, Conn.) pulled out an 8-5 victory at No. 3 doubles against Alex Slobin and Tayyab Sheikh.
Junior Miguel Marreiros (Portimao, Portugal) triumphed over Majewski, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 3 singles, while fellow junior Xavier Aubron (Herouville, France) took care of Alex Federov, 7-5, 6-0, in the No. 4 slot to put the Penmen one win away.
Fernandes, the NE10 Player of the Year, clinched Southern New Hampshire the title as he knocked off Frank Vega, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 1 singles.
Ricardo Marreiros was leading Belov, 6-3, 4-2, at No. 2 singles when the match ended, while van Biezen was up on Slobin, 1-0, at No. 5. The No. 6 singles match between Reichentahl and Sheikh had not yet started.
Notes:
-The Penmen have now won 10-in-a-row and extend their NE10 winning streak, including the postseason, to 23 straight, dating back to Oct. 15, 2015.
-Fernandes was joined on the All-Championship Team by Miguel Marreiros and Aubron.
-Fernandes and Ricardo Marreiros improved to a perfect 10-0 together as doubles partners this season.
-The 8-6 doubles loss to Fedorov and Vega at No. 2 was the first defeat of the season for Aubron and Miguel Marreiros, who entered the day a perfect 8-0 together on the season.
-SNHU also captured its second NE10 Regular-Season Championship with a 5-2 win at Merrimack on April 12.
-SNHU is ranked fourth in the Oracle/ITA East Regional Rankings, while Merrimack is seventh.
Up Next:
The Penmen will now find out who and where they will play in the NCAA Tournament when the NCAA Selection Show airs Tuesday, April 25 (8:30 p.m.).
For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram. Sign up to receive text message alerts and e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here.
