TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, NJ – The St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Tennis team defeated Merrimack College 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. Merrimack, the 5thranked team in the East region, had defeated East region no. 2 NYIT by a 5-2 score the day prior.
Freshmen Marcel Volz (Iffezheim, Germany) and Mitchell Harrison (Brisbane, Australia) teamed at 3rd doubles to take the first win for the Spartans. Merrimack's first pairing took down Tim Fleerkamp (Waalre, Netherlands) and Gijs Anton Offringa (Hollandsche Rading, Netherlands) in a tie break to set up a showdown at second doubles for the deciding match. The duo of Enej Hasicevic (Mallorca, Spain) and Paul Voigt (Cologne, Germany) went back and forth with Jonathan Garcia and Alex Federov, finding themselves locked in a 6-all tie. The Spartan pairing were red hot in the tie break, downing the Warriors team 7-2 to put STAC up 1-0 for the match.
In singles action, Voigt continued his excellent play, putting STAC up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-4 win at 3rd singles. Offringa earned his first collegiate win at 4th singles 6-1, 7-6 (4), with fellow countryman Fleerkamp clinching the match for the Spartans by virtue of a 6-3, 6-3 win in the 2nd slot. Merrimack would win the next three singles matches all in third sets to round out the scoring.
The Spartans improve to 2-0 on the season with both wins against regionally ranked opponents. They are next in action as they head to Orlando, FL for four matches.
St. Thomas Aquinas 4, Merrimack 3
Doubles
1. Denis Davydov/Conrad Koch (MC) def. Tim Fleerkamp/Gijs Anton Offringa (STAC), 7-6 (2)
2. Paul Voigt/Enej Hasicevic (STAC) def. Jonathan Garcia/Alex Federov (MC), 7-6 (2)
3. Marcel Volz/Mitchell Harrison (STAC) def. Alec Mackay Rodriguez/Marshall Wood (MC), 6-3
Singles
1. Denis Davydov (MC) def. Marcel Volz (STAC), 6-7 (5), 6-2, 1-0 (5)
2. Tim Fleerkamp (STAC) def. Jonathan Garcia (MC), 6-3, 6-3
3. Paul Voigt (STAC) def. Alex Federov (MC), 6-2, 6-4
4. Gijs Anton Offringa (STAC) def. Alec Mackay Rodriguez (MC), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
5. Conrad Koch (MC) def. Enej Hasicevic (STAC), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
6. Andre Singer (MC) def. Jose Robles (STAC), 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 3, 4, 2*, 1, 6, 5