FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NE10 Player of the Year Fernandes Clinches Penmen's Thrid-Straight NE10 Title
HOOKSETT, N.H. - Senior Tiago Fernandes pulled out a huge win at No. 1 singles to clinch the match and earn Most Outstanding Player of the Northeast-10 Championship, as top-seeded Southern New Hampshire defeated Merrimack, 5-2, to earn its third straight NE10 Championship on Saturday afternoon at the SNHU Tennis Courts at Penmen Stadium.
Southern New Hampshire captures its fourth NE10 title – all coming in the last five years – in its sixth appearance in the championship match – all coming in the last eight seasons. It marks the first run of three straight NE10 crowns since Assumption won nine-in-a-row from 1999-07. Merrimack, meanwhile, misses out on a chance to claim its fourth title in seven seasons as it falls to 3-5, lifetime, in the finals after losing to SNHU for the second straight year.
SNHU seniors Ricardo Marreiros and Miguel Marreiros doubled up Alex Fedorov and Denis Davydov, 8-4, at No. 2 doubles to open the match, with graduate student Xavier Aubron and sophomore Bas van Biezen following with an 8-5 triumph over Mikhail Belov and Frank Vega at No. 1. Fernandes then teamed with fellow senior Jeremy Reichentahl for an 8-4 win at No. 3 against Tyler Clontz and Paul Weidinger that made it a clean sweep of doubles for the Penmen.
van Biezen kicked off singles play by cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Clontz at No. 5 to push the Warriors to the brink. Merrimack would fight back, however, getting wins at Nos. 2 and 6 to make it 4-2. Fernandes then came through like he has all season long, as the two-time reigning NE10 Player of the Year collected a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win to end the match and deliver the Penmen the three-peat.
2018 NE10 Men's Tennis All-Championship Team
Brendan McCarthy, Bentley (not pictured)
Tyler Underwood, Le Moyne (not pictured)
Denys Davydov, Merrimack
Frank Vega, Merrimack
Xavier Aubron, SNHU
Bas van Biezen, SNHU
Tiago Fernandes, SNHU
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Southern New Hampshire
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.