West Liberty University Athletics

West Liberty Men Fall in NCAA Regional

Men's Tennis | 5/7/2016 11:55:00 PM

ERIE, Pa. – The No. 6-seeded Mercyhurst men's tennis team came from behind here Saturday afternoon to upset No. 3-seeded West Liberty, 5-4, in a thrilling NCAA Division II Atlantic Region II semifinal match on the indoor courts at the Westwood Racquet Club.
Saturday's win marked the second consecutive season that the Lakers (11-8) had knocked Coach Sam McCullough's Hilltoppers (17-6) out of the NCAA Tournament. Mercyhurst also pulled out a 5-4 win against WLU in last year's Atlantic Region II championship match.
The turning point of Saturday's match may have come during the doubles segment as the Lakers' No. 1 pairing of Travis Beck and Nenan Terzic battled West Liberty's No. 1 singles pairing of Baptiste Perrin and Santiago Gutierrez to an 8-8 deadlock, forcing a tiebreaker. Mercyhurst emerged with a 9-7 win in the tiebreaker when an 'out' call on match point was overturned by the official.
That put West Liberty on the short end of a 2-1 count heading into singles play, which turned out to be crucial when the Hilltoppers' Perrin, Andrew Ponder and Martin Moncayo breezed to straight-set wins at No. 1, 3 and 4 singles, respectively, to take a 4-2 lead.
Andoni Marquez kept Mercyhurst's hopes alive with a three-set win against WLU's Matt Tully at No. 5 singles and the Lakers' Ross Molinario outlasted Luke Flanagan in a hotly-contested two-set match at No. 6 singles to forge a 4-4 tie.
Gutierrez and Mercyhurst's Joaquin Aguilera were locked in a classic struggle at No. 2 singles. Gutierrez had taken Aguilera to a tiebreaker in the opening set only to come out on the short end of a 7-4 count. The second set also went down to the wire but Aguilera prevailed, 7-5, to end the match.
The Lakers advance to Sunday's Atlantic Region II championship match against No. 2-seeded Edinboro. The match is set for a noon start on the Edinboro campus.

MEN'S TENNIS
Atlantic Region II
Semifinal
Mercyhurst 5, West Liberty 4
Doubles
1. Travis Beck/Nenad Terzic (MU) d. Baptiste Perrin/Santiago Gutierrez (WLU), 9-8 (7)
2. Conor McCooey/Andoni Marquez (MU) d. Andrew Ponder/Matt Tully (WLU), 8-2
3. Pablo Cimorra/Martin Moncayo (WLU) d. Joaquin Aguilera/Dusan Cerny (MU), 8-6
Singles
1. Baptiste Perrin (WLU) d. Nenad Terzic (MU), 6-2, 6-3
2. Joaquin Aguilera (MU) d. Santiago Gutierrez (WLU), 7-6 (4), 7-5
3. Andrew Ponder (WLU) d. Conor McCooey (MU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Martin Moncayo (WLU) d. Travis Beck (MU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Andoni Marquez (MU) d. Matt Tully (WLU), 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
6. Ross Molinaro (MU) d. Luke Flanagan (WLU), 7-5, 6-4

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Players Mentioned

Pablo Cimorra: 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Flanagan: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Santiago Gutierrez: 6' 1"; Junior

Martin Moncayo: 5' 8"; Senior

Baptiste Perrin: 6' 3"; Junior

Andrew Ponder: 6' 5"; Junior

Matt Tully: 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Pablo Cimorra
: 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Flanagan
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Santiago Gutierrez
: 6' 1"; Junior

Martin Moncayo
: 5' 8"; Senior

Baptiste Perrin
: 6' 3"; Junior

Andrew Ponder
: 6' 5"; Junior

Matt Tully
: 6' 0"; Junior