The ECCC men's tennis team fell to Meridian, 5-0, in the first round of the NJCAA Region 23 tennis tournament held in Ellisville on the campus of Jones College yesterday afternoon. The result ends the 2022 season for the Warriors barring a bid to the NJCAA National Tournament. 

"We had a couple of really close doubles matches, and we were leading at No. 1 singles and had split sets at No. 6 when the match ended," said ECCC head coach Jay Pacelli. "I'm proud of the fight in our team, and we will look to see if we get a national bid in the coming weeks."

The Warriors dropped all the three doubles matches, with matches on the No. 1 and No. 2 court being very tight.  

MCC's Anton Sarunic and Sebastian Hernandez defeated ECCC's Dominik Simunovic and Joseph Fletcher, 9-7, at No. 1, while Colin Hartman and Will McCullough took down Orren Ladner and Ian Gordon in a tiebreaker at No. 2. Parker Chaney and Grant Frank defeated Kaleb Parish and Samuel Turner, 8-2, at No. 3. 

The Warriors fell at No. 4 and No. 5 singles as McCullough defeated Steed Springfield, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4, and Parker Lyons defeated Parish, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5. With the wins, the match was called without No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, or No. 6 singles finishing. 

Doubles

1. Anton Sarunic/Sebastian Hernandez def. Dominik Simunovic/Joseph Fletcher, 9-7 

2. Colin Hartman/Will McCullough def. Ian Gordon/Orren Ladner, 9-8 (7-5)

3. Parker Chaney/Grant Frank def. Samuel Turner/Kaleb Parish, 8-2 

Singles

1. Dominik Simunovic led Anton Sarunic, 6-4, 4-5 (match called)

2. Sebastian Hernandez led Joseph Fletcher, 6-3, 5-3 (match called) 

3. Colin Hartman led. Orren Ladner, 6-4, 5-2 (match called)

4. Will McCullough def. Steed Springfield, 6-0, 6-2 

5. Paker Lyons def. Kaleb Parish, 6-3, 6-1

6. Parker Chaney led Garrett Crimm, 6-0, 5-6 (match called)