North Andover, MA – The fifth seeded Adelphi University men's tennis team traveled to top-seeded Merrimack College for the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament on Friday. The Panthers dropped a 5-2 decision to the Warriors to see their record drop to 13-8 overall; the Warriors improve to 13-4 and advance to the championship for the fourth time in five years.

The Panthers fell in a 2-0 hole early in doubles play as Sander Brenner and Boris Tiberkov and Alan Chocron and Chiwete Njokanma were defeated at second and third doubles, respectively. However, Andreas Hammar and Bryan Kallenberg teamed up for an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles and the Panthers trailed 2-1 going into singles play.

Njokanma continued his strong play in the sixth slot as he won his eighth straight match in that position; he bested Chris Toegermann 6-2, 6-2 to bring the Panthers on level terms in the match. However, that would be the last point the Panthers recorded in the match as the Warriors picked up the necessary three singles matches to seal the victory. The Warriors recorded straight set wins at first and third singles and Lipinski rallied from a set down to defeat Kallenberg to clinch the win at second singles.

The Panthers will now wait and see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

SINGLES:
1. Miguel Belfort (MER) def. Andreas Hammar (ADE) 7-5, 6-1
2. Matt Lipinski (MER) def. Bryan Kallenberg (ADE) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Chris Barnhart (MER) def. Sander Brenner (ADE) 6-1, 6-2
4. Vince Bellino (MER) vs. Alan Chocron (ADE) 7-6 (9-7) 3-3 (unfinished)
5. Petar Golijanin (MER) vs. Boris Tiberkov (ADE) 4-6, 6-3, 1-1 (unfinished)
6. Chiwete Njokanma (ADE) def. Chris Toegermann (MER) 6-2, 6-2

DOUBLES:
1. Andreas Hammar/Bryan Kallenberg (ADE) def. Matt Lipinski/Pronesti (MER) 8-6
2. Chris Barnhart/Vince Bellino (MER) def. Sander Brenner/Boris Tiberkov (ADE) 8-0
3. Petar Golijanin/Miguel Belfort (MER) def. Alan Chocron/Chiwete Njokanma ADE) 8-5