NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Fourth-seeded Merrimack College took a 5-0 victory over fifth-seeded Bentley University in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis East Regional No. 1 on Sunday.

Merrimack, which improves to 18-7 on the season, advances to the East Regional No. 1 final on Monday morning, where they will face the region's top-seed and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion Concordia (N.Y.). Bentley's season comes to an end at 15-7.

The Warriors took a commanding 3-0 lead by sweeping the doubles matches, meaning Bentley needed to win five of six in singles to rally.

Merrimack got victories in singles from freshman Vince Bellino in the fourth-flight, 6-1, 6-2 over senior Alec Spycher (Sarasota, Fla./Saint Stephens Episcopal) to take a 4-0 lead, and senior Sean Pahler in the fifth-flight, 6-0, 6-1 over sophomore Andrew Waddington (Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) to clinch the match.

In doubles, senior Max Eppley and Pahler topped senior Zach Tuckman (Kinnelon, N.J./Morristown Beard School) and junior Rodrigo Ribeiro (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Chapel School) in the first-flight, 8-3. Bellino and sophomore Chris Barnhart defeated Spycher and freshman Raghav Tanna (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) in the second-flight, 8-3, and juniors Petar Golijanin and Chris Toegemann beat Waddington and sophomore Jimmy Rindo (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) in the third-flight, 8-6.

Box Score

At North Andover, Mass.

Merrimack 5, Bentley 0

NCAA East Regional No. 1 First Round

Doubles

1. Max Eppley/Sean Pahler (MER) def. Zach Tuckman/Rodrigo Ribeiro (BEN) 8-3

2. Vince Bellino/Chris Barnhart (MER) def. Raghav Tanna/Alec Spycher (BEN) 8-3

3. Chris Toegemann/Petar Golijanin (MER) def. Andrew Waddington/Jimmy Rindo (BEN) 8-6

Singles

1. Chris Barnhart (MER) vs. Zach Tuckman (BEN) unfinished

2. Max Eppley (MER) vs. Rodrigo Ribeiro (BEN) unfinished

3. Petar Golijanin (MER) vs. Jimmy Rindo (BEN) unfinished

4. Vince Bellino (MER) def. Alec Spycher (BEN) 6-1, 6-2

5. Sean Pahler (MER) def. Andrew Waddington (BEN) 6-0, 6-1

6. Chris Toegemann (MER) vs. Raghav Tanna (BEN) unfinished

Match Notes:

Bentley 15-7

Merrimack 18-7