North Andover, MA – The Adelphi University men's tennis team dropped a close 5-4 decision to the Warriors of Merrimack College in a Northeast-10 Conference match on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Panthers drop to 10-7 overall and 4-3 in the NE-10, while the Warriors improve to 8-4 overall and 6-0 in the conference on the back of their fourth straight win.
 
The Panthers fell behind early as the Warriors picked up all three points in doubles play. In the closest contest, Andreas Hammar and Bryan Kallenberg fell by a 9-7 score at first doubles to Matt Lipinski and Miguel Belfort.
 
The Panthers took four out of six singles matches, as Hammar, Kallenberg and Chiwete Njokanma each picked up straight set victories at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 singles; Boris Tiberkov also picked up a tough 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 win in the fourth slot. However, it wasn't enough as Merrimack secured the necessary two points at the third and fourth slots to seal the victory.
 
The Panthers return to action on Tuesday, April 9 when they travel to Le Moyne College for a Northeast-10 Conference match.
 
Singles:
1.      Andreas Hammar (ADE) def. Miguel Belfort (MC) 6-4, 6-2
2.      Bryan Kallenberg (ADE) def. Matt Lipinski (MC) 6-3, 7-5
3.      Chris Barnhart (MC) def. Sander Brenner (ADE) 6-0, 6-2
4.      Vince Bellino (MC) def. Alan Chocron (ADE) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
5.      Boris Tiberkov (ADE) def. Chris Toegemann (MC) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
6.       Chiwete Njokanma (ADE) def. Mark Mallory (MC) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles:
1.      Lipinski/Belfort (MC) def. Hammar/Kallenberg (ADE) 9-7
2.      Barnhart/Bellino (MC) def. Tiberkov/Brenner (ADE) 8-1
3.      Toegemann/Golijanin (MC) def. Chocron/Njokanma (ADE) 8-1