COLCHESTER, Vt. - The regionally-ranked Saint Michael's College men's tennis team won the opening doubles point from regionally-ranked Southern New Hampshire University before losing a 5-2 decision that featured four three-set singles matches on Wednesday in the Tarrant Recreation Center.
 
The five-hour Northeast-10 Conference affair included a Purple Knight squad ranked ninth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region poll and the Penmen, fifth in the most recent regional rankings and qualifiers for the past two NCAA Tournaments.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (6-9, 2-4 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (8-3, 4-1 NE10)

LEADERS

• Junior Sergio Barroso (Madrid, Spain/Colegio Montpellier), 2 wins
• Senior Tristian Du Plessis (Rustenburg, South Africa/Höerskool Waterkloof/Wallace State CC), 1 win
• Senior Jackson Moser (Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point), 1 win
• Sophomore Julius van den Broek (Bergschenhoek, The Netherlands/Wolfert Lyceum), 1 win

MATCH FACTS

• The Purple Knights won a pair of doubles matches from the Penmen for the first time since April 15, 2010.
• Barroso became the 13th student-athlete in program history with 50 career victories across singles and doubles play, with 50 on the nose. He also slid into a tie for eighth in school annals in doubles wins (25).
• Barroso's 21 victories between singles and doubles this season are tied for fourth in program history, within three of a mark reached twice by Jason Boucher '23.

THE ACTION

• Moser and van den Broek opened doubles play with a 6-4 victory in the third spot before first-years Garrett Brooker (Charleston, S.C./Oceanside Collegiate Academy) and Jack Li (San Diego, Calif./San Marcos) lost 6-3 at No. 2.
• In the top position, Barroso and Du Plessis improved to 14-8 with a 6-4 victory. The duo led 5-2, but the Penmen won the next two games en route to serving for the tie. Saint Michael's forged a 30-0 lead in that game before the visitors went ahead 40-30, but consecutive winners from Du Plessis clinched the win and handed his team the doubles point. Barroso and Du Plessis downed a tandem that entered the day 11-2 and had finished as ITA East Regional Championship semifinalists in the fall.
• Moser opened singles play with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 loss in the third spot before Du Plessis closed out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 setback against the region's 12th-ranked player at No. 1.
• Barroso leveled the contest with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory in the second position. He had never played as high as No. 2 during an NE10 match.
• The Penmen took the final three matches to swipe the win, each coming in competitive fashion. Van den Broek was on the losing end of a 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 outing at No. 4 before first-year Ruben Weijer's (Son, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands/Frits Philips Lyceum) 6-4, 6-2 defeat in the sixth position allowed the visitors to clinch the victory. Brooker capped the match with a 7-5, 6-4 loss at No. 5.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• April 6 at Franklin Pierce University, 11 a.m.