BOX SCORE
When and Where: September 8, 2018 – No. Andover, Mass. (North Andover High School)
Score: Merrimack College 4, Southern New Hampshire University 3
Records: Merrimack 1-1 (1-0 NE10), SNHU 1-2 (0-1 NE10)
Senior Sofia Morais (Porto, Portugal) and freshman Alexxa Etienne (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) both won a pair of matches for the second straight contest, but the Southern New Hampshire University women's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to Merrimack College on Saturday in its Northeast-10 opener.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Morais breezed past Lauren Persson, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 2 singles, while she and classmate Anna Sala (Matadepera, Spain) recorded a 6-2 victory over Mana Seifaei and Kristina Calistro at No. 1 doubles.
- Etienne worked hard for her No. 3 singles win, rallying for a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 10-6 triumph against Cassie Restrepo. She also combined with senior Rachel Wagner (Framingham, Mass.) to defeat Restrepo and Rosemary Campanella, 6-2, at No. 2 doubles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Penmen led, 1-0, going into singles play after taking two of the three doubles matches.
- After Merrimack tied it with a win at No. 6 singles, Morais' victory put the Penmen back in front, 2-1.
- Points for the Warriors at Nos. 4 and 5 singles leapfrogged them into the lead at 3-2, before Seifaei pulled out a 6-2, 7-5 victory against Sala at No. 1 to clinch the match.
NOTES
- The loss snapped Southern New Hampshire's five-game win streak against Merrimack, which won for just the third time in 15 tries against the Penmen.
UP NEXT
- The Penmen are back in action Sept. 14-16 at the ITA East Regional Championships.
- The next home match for SNHU is Tuesday, Sept. 18 (3 p.m.) when it plays host to Bentley University in Northeast-10 action.
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.
