Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Tennis makes the trip back east as they return to Bloomsburg, Pa. to play in the ITA Atlantic Regional Tournament for the second straight year. The two teams will begin their weekend slate on Friday, September 16th, with the Lakers scheduled to play through Monday, September 19th.
1. Second Season Success
Mercyhurst had some solid success in the ITA Atlantic Regional Tournament last year with Hristo Plasheski making it to the semifinal round in both doubles and singles play. Plasheski won four matches in singles play with all coming in two sets to give him a strong start to the 2021-22 campaign. The native of Skopje, North Macedonia will look to have another solid run in the tournament with him coming off a weekend in which he won a match in both doubles and singles in the Bloomsburg Invitational.
2. Singles Success
Mercyhurst Women's Tennis comes off a weekend in which they played extremely well when going solo. They were able to win 10 of their 14 singles contests with most coming in convincing fashion. During the first round, Roisin Murphy started the Lakers off with a shutout, winning 4-0, 4-0 while KierstenBrown was close to Murphy's record with a 4-1, 4-1 victory. Later that day, Mercyhurst's Brown, Kayla Dean, and Sara Bertolez Puente each had wins in the second round. Their impressive performance earned them a spot in the winner's circle along with Uliana Nedelko and Nadja Ostojic. Nedelko and Ostojic both dominated their opponents with 4-1, 4-0 wins to help every Laker win at least one singles match.
3. Fitting In
Among some of the Laker's top performers in the Bloomsburg Invitational were freshmen competing in their very first taste of collegiate competition. For the women, it was Kiersten Brown who shone bright with the newcomer winning one bout in doubles play before walking away with a pair of wins when going solo. The men's group of fresh faces was led by Danyol Rekun who managed to win one of his two doubles matches alongside Plasheski while recording a flawless 4-0, 4-0 win in singles.
4. Familiar Foes
Mercyhurst will recognize some of the opponents that they are set to face this weekend. For the women two of their three opening round doubles matches comes against Millersville. The Lakers handled the Marauders last season with a 6-1 win and currently hold an 8-0 mark against them all time. The men will also see Millersville twice with their bouts coming in singles play. The Lakers grabbed the win against the Marauders last year by a count of 5-2 and will look to make it a dozen wins total against the PSAC opponent.
5. What's Next
Mercyhurst will take a week off before they return to action at the beginning of October. The Lakers will make a third consecutive trip to Bloomsburg, Pa. on October 1st when they begin competition in the PSAC Singles and Doubles Tournament. The team will compete in the conference tournament beginning on the 1st and will continue play through the 3rd.
