PETERBOROUGH, N.H. - With the final team result pending the outcome of his singles match, sophomore Sergio Barroso (Madrid, Spain/Colegio Montpellier) finished off a three-set comeback victory to clinch the Saint Michael's College men's tennis team a 4-3 win over Franklin Pierce University on Saturday night.

The Purple and Gold won the final three matches of the contest, as the regionally-ranked Northeast-10 Conference foes played a six-hour affair at the Monadnock Indoor Tennis Club. The Purple Knights were 10th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region rankings, while the Ravens stood ninth. Franklin Pierce advanced to last year's NE10 Championship semifinals after eliminating the Purple and Gold in the first round.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-9, 1-1 NE10), Franklin Pierce (3-8, 0-2 NE10)

LEADERS

• Barroso, 1 win
• Junior Tristian Du Plessis (Rustenburg, South Africa/Hoërskool Waterkloof/Wallace State CC), 2 wins
• First-year Mathis Billman (Brandon, Miss./South Carolina Connections Academy), 2 wins
• Senior Josh Weiss (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon), 1 win

MATCH FACTS

• Saint Michael's downed a reigning NE10 semifinalist for the first time since April 22, 2008, when it finished off a season sweep of Bentley University.
• Barroso improved to 10-1 during singles on the season, becoming just the 12th Purple Knight to reach double digits in a season, and only the sixth in the last 31 years.
• Weiss picked up his 45th career victory between singles and doubles play.
• The Purple Knights downed Franklin Pierce for the first time since April 3, 2015, and earned their initial road win in the series since Oct. 9, 2011.
• In addition to facing regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce and Adelphi University, the Purple Knights' slate has featured a pair of matches with Division I Merrimack College and meetings with five nationally-ranked Division II and III foes.

THE ACTION

• Billman and Du Plessis breezed to a 6-0 victory at No. 1 doubles before the Purple Knights' second and third squads lost by one break apiece. Barroso and first-year Julius van den Broek (Bergschenhoek, The Netherlands/Wolfert Lyceum) lost a 6-4 decision in the third spot before Weiss and senior Jason Boucher (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) were downed by a 7-5 count at No. 2, allowing the Ravens to clinch the doubles point.
• The hosts took a 2-0 lead when junior Jackson Moser (Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point) lost a 6-4, 6-3 contest at No. 2 singles.
• Weiss came up with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory in the top spot, but Franklin Pierce reclaimed a two-point edge at 3-1 when Boucher was downed 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-2) at No. 3, losing twice in tiebreakers.
• The Purple Knights rallied to level the match when Du Plessis completed a comeback in the fourth spot, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, and Billman blanked his foe at No. 6, 6-0, 6-0.
• In a 3-3 affair, the match was decided by Barroso's contest at No. 5 singles, ultimately a 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) triumph for the Purple Knight. After taking a 3-0 lead in the opening set, he eventually lost in a tiebreaker, but snapped a 4-4 second-set tie by breaking serve before serving out the final game and forcing a deciding third set. Down 4-2, Barroso again broke his Raven foe twice while capturing three straight games to lead 5-4. Serving for the match at 40-40 in the no-ad format, Barroso lost the point but again broke his opponent's serve to lead 6-5. After losing his final service game, the match advanced to another tiebreaker, which stood tied 3-3 at the first changeover. The Spaniard controlled the remainder of the match from that juncture, winning four of the final five points to clinch the team victory.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Tuesday at Southern New Hampshire University, 3 p.m.
• The Penmen finished as the 2022 NE10 Championship runners-up before qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
• Southern New Hampshire was second in the latest ITA East Region Poll.