NASHUA, N.H. - The regionally-ranked Saint Michael's College men's tennis team lost its third consecutive 4-3 decision to Division I Merrimack College over the past calendar year on Wednesday at the Longfellow New Hampshire Tennis & Swim Club. The Purple Knights, who capped their fall campaign with the makeup contest, were ninth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-3), Merrimack (1-1)

LEADERS

• Senior Tristian Du Plessis (Rustenburg, South Africa/Hoërskool Waterkloof/Wallace State CC), 1 win
• Senior Jackson Moser (Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point), 1 win
• Junior Sergio Barroso (Madrid, Spain/Colegio Montpellier), 1 win
• Sophomore Simon Lundholm (Le Luc, France/CNED), 1 win
• First-year Garrett Brooker (Charleston, S.C./Oceanside Collegiate Academy), 1 win

MATCH FACTS

• Brooker won his 10th doubles match of the season, breaking a program rookie record shared by Brian Heney '96 (1992-93), Jason Boucher '23 (2019-20) and Connor Scott '23 (2019-20). At 10-4 heading into the spring, Brooker is two wins short of the program's overall doubles mark, shared by three student-athletes.

THE ACTION

• With Merrimack defaulting at No. 3 doubles, Brooker and Moser started the day with a 6-2 triumph at No. 2 doubles to clinch Saint Michael's the 1-0 lead. Barroso and Du Plessis followed by claiming a 6-2 victory of their own in the top spot. Both duos improved to 9-4 this year and are within three wins of a 16-year-old school record set by the tandem of Torr Terranova '08 and John Lescure '09.
• Another Warrior default at No. 6 singles gave the Purple Knights a 2-0 edge.
• Merrimack countered by winning the next four matches to clinch the team victory, including as Du Plessis, sophomore Julius van den Broek (Bergschenhoek, The Netherlands/Wolfert Lyceum) and first-year Ruben Weijer (Son, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands/Frits Philips Lyceum) all lost one set by a 6-4 count in straight-set losses at No. 1, 2 and 5, respectively. Du Plessis took on a player who landed Northeast Conference (NEC) All-Conference singles laurels last spring.
• With the Warriors leading 4-2, Lundholm won his second singles match in as many tries this fall by taking the final three games for a 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 triumph in the fourth spot.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• March 23 at regionally-ranked Adelphi University, 12 p.m.
• The Panthers were sixth in the latest ITA East Region poll.