ERIE, Pa. -- Three straight singles decisions sent the Mercyhurst men's tennis team past West Liberty to a 5-4 victory in an NCAA Atlantic Regional contest on Saturday at the Westwood Racquet Club.
With the Lakers trailing the match, 4-2, singles wins by
Andoni Marquez Calderon and
Ross Molinaro IV pulled Mercyhurst into a 4-all tie with WLU and set the stage for
Joaquin Aguilera's match-ending point at No. 2 singles.
Aguilera defeated Santiago Gutierrez, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, to secure the fifth and deciding point. Marquez Calderon took a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, win at fifth singles over Matt Tully while Molinaro won a close match himself against Luke Flanagan, 7-5, 6-4.
Mercyhurst took a 2-1 lead in the match's doubles portion.
Travis Beck and
Nenad Terzic edged WLU's Gutierrez and Baptiste Perrin, 9-8 (9-7), in the No. 1 doubles matchup. Marquez Calderon and
Conor McCooey claimed an 8-2 win at second doubles against Tully and Andrew Ponder.
With the win, the Lakers (11-8) avenged an Apr. 14 loss to WLU (17-6), which resulted in a 5-4 score.
Mercyhurst now moves into a contest at Edinboro on Sunday; the winner will receive a berth to the NCAA Round of 16 in Denver, Colo.
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DOUBLES
2.Â
Conor McCooey/Andoni Marquez (MU) def.  Andrew Ponder/Matt Tully (WL) – 8-2
SINGLES
1. Baptiste Penn (WL) def. Â
Nenad Terzic (MU) – 6-2, 6-3
4. Martin Moncayo (WL) def.
Travis Beck (MU) – 6-1, 6-2
5. Andoni Marquez (MU) def. Matt Tully (WL) – 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
6. Ross Molinaro (MU) def. Luke Flanagan (WL) – 7-5, 6-4 Â
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles:Â 2, 3, 1
Singles:Â 4, 1, 3, 5, 6, 2
RECORDS: Mercyhurst – 11-8; West Liberty – 17-6
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