PURCHASE, N.Y. - On the strength of a doubles sweep, the Mount Saint Mary College men's tennis team defeated Purchase College by a final margin of 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon in the Skyline Conference opener for the Knights.  MSMC is now 5-3 overall (1-0 Skyline), while the Panthers drop back to 6-2 overall (2-1 Skyline).

Sophomores Greg Jacob (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Stat Willand (Sparta, N.J.) got things started with an 8-5 win at first doubles.  Senior Zach Conlon (Huntington, N.Y.) and freshman Conor Merryman (Marlboro, N.Y.) were quick to follow with an 8-5 win at third doubles, leaving only the second doubles match in doubt.  Leading 8-7 after a key break of serve, senior Nate Ahlberg (Catskill, N.Y.) served out the match, giving he and senior partner Mike McNicholas (Milton, N.Y.) a 9-7 win.

The singles action got off to a rough start, as the Knights dropped the top two singles matches.  But Willand came through with a big point at third singles, claiming his match 6-4, 6-1, even after falling into an early 3-0 hole.  Then, at sixth singles, Conlon clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

After losing the opening set, McNicholas rallied to claim the second, 7-5, and force a super tiebreaker for a third set.  Unfortunately for the Knights, McNicholas dropped the breaker, 10-7.  In the only match left on court, Ahlberg ground out a three-set win at fourth singles, ultimately prevailing 6-4 in the third.

With a key Skyline win under their belts, the Knights return to non-conference action this weekend.  They'll travel to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institue for a match with the Engineers on Sunday, April 1 at 1:00 p.m.