MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - For the last month, the Millersville men's tennis team battled through a bevvy of injuries to gut out five consecutive wins, but the Marauders' run finally ran out of gas in Friday's narrow, 4-3 loss to Mercyhurst.
Millersville (6-7, 4-1 PSAC) entered the match with just five, and it got worse when
Lino Morin, who had been instrumental in recent PSAC victories, was forced to bow out of his match at No. 4 singles after two games. Morin had fought through a lingering injury all season, but today, he could not. The loss was Millersville's first against PSAC competition, dropping the team into a tie for second in the standings with Mercyhurst, which improved to 9-6 (4-1 PSAC).
HOW IT HAPPENED
• While Mercyhurst clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win in the No. 2 flight, Millersville's top team of
Dylan Tull and
Zach Pernia remained perfect on the season, winning 6-1 for their sixth-straight win as a pairing. Tull and
Shaurya Piplani started the Marauders with singles wins. Piplani won a first set tiebreaker 7-6 (6-4) before closing out his straight-sets win. Millersville also received a point from
Jasper de Koning in the No. 5 slot as he topped Kiran Richards, 6-1, 6-1. In addition to the default win in the No. 6 and the retirement of Morin at No. 4, Mercyhurst's Lukas Cabue edged
Zach Pernia, 7-6 (6-3), 6-2. That snapped Pernia's five-match winning streak and was his first loss ince March 16.
UP NEXT
• Millersville closes out PSAC play against unbeaten Edinboro on Saturday, April 15. Because of the projected weather, the match has been moved indoors to the Hempfield Sports Center.