CANTON, N.Y. - The regionally-ranked Saint Michael's College men's tennis team stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Saint Lawrence University, 5-4, on Thursday in Newell Field House. The Purple Knights were ninth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-5), Saint Lawrence (0-1)

LEADERS

• Senior Tristian Du Plessis (Rustenburg, South Africa/Höerskool Waterkloof/Wallace State CC), 2 wins
• Junior Sergio Barroso (Madrid, Spain/Colegio Montpellier), 2 wins
• First-year Garrett Brooker (Charleston, S.C./Oceanside Collegiate Academy), 1 win
• First-year Jack Li (San Diego, Calif./San Marcos), 1 win

MATCH FACTS

• Since their initial visit to Canton in 1938, the Purple Knights won for the first time in 14 all-time road meetings. Saint Michael's is now 5-18 in the series, which dates to 1930, having also won last year at home.
• Barroso and Du Plessis improved to 11-5 as a doubles tandem this school year to come within one win of Torr Terranova '08 and John Lescure's '09 16-year-old school record for season doubles victories.

THE ACTION

• Playing their first match together, junior Sam Papovsky (Lincoln, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) and first-year Ruben Weijer (Son, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands/Frits Philips Lyceum) lost an 8-3 decision at No. 3 doubles in Papovsky's college debut.
• Brooker and Li led 5-4 in the second spot before suffering an 8-5 setback in their first match as partners.
• With the teams playing by Division III rules, where all matches count toward the team score, Barroso and Du Plessis forged an 8-7 (7-4) triumph at No. 1, with Barroso's overhead winner sealing the victory.
• Weijer's 6-1, 6-3 loss at No. 5 singles allowed Saint Lawrence to snag a 3-1 lead.
• The Purple Knights won the next four decisions in succession, first as Du Plessis won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1, capturing his final two games to snap a second-set tie, and Barroso took a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the third spot.
• Li put the visitors up 4-3 thanks to securing a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 2 in just his third college singles match.
• Brooker clinched the Saint Michael's win thanks to a pair of comebacks at No. 4, capturing a 6-2, 6-3 contest by taking the final five games of the opening set and five of the final six games in the second.
• With the match in hand, Papovsky lost his first college singles match in the No. 6 position.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Monday vs. Emerson College in Nashua, N.H., 12:30 p.m.