CANTON, N.Y. - The Saint Michael's College men's tennis team played the institution's first spring sporting event on Sunday, falling at Saint Lawrence University, 9-0, in Newell Field House. The Saints are 2-0.
A pair of Purple Knight tandems lost 8-4 decisions in doubles, with juniors Sam Laves (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Brady) and Charlie Merry (Kennebunkport, Maine/Kennebunk) joining at No. 2, and sophomores Tyler Lucey (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) and Hayden Steward (Hamilton, Mass./Pingree School) siding at No. 3. It was just the third time in their careers Laves and Merry competed together, while Lucey, a first-year member of the program, made his college debut. In the top spot, senior Billy Wood (Wayne, Pa./Home Schooled) and sophomore Ben Lambert (Milford, N.H./Milford) had their first appearance as a tandem, with Wood's fourth career doubles outing resulting in an 8-2 setback.
During his singles match, Merry had the closest result of the day for Saint Michael's, placing on the losing side of a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) decision in the second position. Wood and sophomore Patrick Dietz (Prospect, Conn./Woodland Regional) won three games at No. 1 and 5, respectively, and Laves took home one game in the fourth spot.
The Purple Knights break until March 21, when they head to Southern New Hampshire University at 1 p.m. The Penmen, who won the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Championship and are ranked sixth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region poll, qualified for the last four NCAA Tournaments.
