Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Men's Tennis team kicked off a busy weekend with a 7-0 win against Salem, and will host West Virginia State Sunday afternoon at the Westwood Racquet Club.

Lakers Earn All Seven Against Salem

Salem got off to a hot start as the second doubles match finished first and the Tigers earned a 6-1 win, but the Lakers' two regionally-ranked doubles teams salvaged the doubles point at the top and bottom spots.

David Akinpetide and Milan Jankovic, ranked No. 15 in Division II and No. 2 in the Atlantic Region, won 6-2 at first doubles while Morris Haab and Hristo Plasheski, ranked No. 4 in the region, secured the point with a 6-1 win at third doubles.

The Lakers swept all six singles matches, led by Ben Davis' 7-5, 6-3 win at first singles. Akinpetide needed a tiebreaker in his second set to win 6-0, 7-6 (3) at second singles, while Jankovic and Plasheski both posted 6-1, 6-2 wins at the next two spots.

Noha DeSousa Pereira and Kiran Richards filled out the final two singles spots, respectively, earning straight-set wins as well.

Up Next

The Lakers hardly get a breather as they will host West Virginia State Sunday afternoon at the Westwood Racquet Club. That match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Scouting West Virginia State

The Yellow Jackets are beginning their spring dual schedule this weekend with a matchup against Edinboro on Saturday before playing the Lakers Sunday.

On Feb. 4-5, West Virginia State competed at the University of Charleston Invitational, where the team earned 11 wins. Freshman Alex Cottrell and senior Ryan Mullins paced the team with three wins each over the weekend. The team features one player who is ranked in the Atlantic Region: Paulo Gutierrez, ranked No. 14 in singles play.