The Franklin Pierce University men’s tennis team was defeated, 4-3, on Sunday by Hartford in non-conference play at Hartford.
With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 4-14, while Hartford improves to 2-16.
With Hartford as the host school, the teams played under Division I rules, where the three doubles matches were worth a combined one point. As a result, a win at second doubles by freshman James Bisazza and sophomore Olivier Viel went for naught, since Hartford took the other two matches to capture the doubles point. Still, the duo was able to pick up a 6-4 win over Hartford junior Juan Molina and freshman Bryan Einstoss.
Franklin Pierce was able to force a split of six singles matches to create the 4-3 final, though it could not find a fourth victory to take the match. The Ravens picked up wins at first, fourth and sixth singles, courtesy of Bisazza, Viel and freshman Dan Longtin, respectively. Bisazza notched a 6-2, 6-4 win over senior Nicholas Sharwarko, Viel tallied a 6-2, 6-4 victory over junior Harrison Max, and Longtin pulled out a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over junior Jairus Baker.
Franklin Pierce was scheduled to host St. Anselm Monday afternoon. The team is back in action today at Merrimack at 3 p.m.