BOONE, N.C. ? Andrew Taylor used an extra game in the second set to defeat Nick Medica, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 5 singles to clinch the match and lift the Appalachian State University men’s tennis team to a 4-3 victory over The Citadel in Southern Conference action, Friday at the ASU Stadium Tennis courts.
With the win the Mountaineers improve to 11-9 overall and 2-6 in SoCon play, while the Bulldogs drop to 10-11 on the season and 4-5 in league play. The win moves ASU into a tie for seventh place, while The Citadel drops to sixth in the SoCon. The 4-3 decision marks the seventh of that score for the Bulldogs this season.
The Citadel got the match started off as Danny Dossetor and James Eason pulled out a quick, 8-2, defeat of ASU’s Taylor (Parkland, Fla.) and Ryan Brookshaw (Pretoria, South Africa) at the No. 1 doubles flight.
Andrew Waters (Durban, South Africa) and Dimitar Dimitrov (Sofia, Bulgaria) swung the momentum to Appalachian with an 8-6, come-from-behind win over David Lara and Nick Medica at the No. 2 position. With the doubles point on the line, ASU’s Robert Hogewood (Greensboro, N.C.) and Alex Probst (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) took a few pointers from their teammates as the duo came from behind to defeat Ananda Sawmynaden and Derek Jose, 9-7, at the No. 3 flight to clinch the point for the home team.
Trailing the Mountaineers, 1-0, the Bulldogs took the lead at 2-1 as Easton defeated Brookshaw, 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 3 position and Dossetor took down Probst, 7-6, 6-1 at No. 1. Dimitrov evened the score at 2-2 as he pulled out a 6-2, 7-6 win over Sawmynaden at the No. 2 flight.
In just his seventh singles match of the season, Hogewood remained hot Friday, picking up his third singles win in four matches as he defeated Derek Jose, 6-3, 7-6, at the No. 6 position to give ASU the lead back at 3-2.The Mountaineer lead was brief as Lara defeated Waters, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 4 spot to tie the match at three points apiece.
The match came down to the No. 5 slot, as Taylor battled to defeat Medica, 6-3, 7-5, in dramatic fashion to clinch the 4-3 win for the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers conclude their regular season as they host Davidson, Tuesday, April 18 at 2 p.m. at the ASU Stadium Tennis Courts in a match rescheduled from April 8. Tuesday’s match will be the final home contest for seniors Andrew Waters and Andrew Taylor. The Bulldogs will next hit the courts as they host the Southern Conference Championships in Charleston, S.C., April 20-23.
Appalachian State (ASU) 4, The Citadel (CIT) 3
April 14, 2006 ? ASU Stadium Tennis Courts
Doubles
1) Dossetor/Eason (CIT) def. Taylor/Brookshaw (ASU), 8-2
2) Waters/Dimitrov (ASU) def. Lara/Medica (CIT), 8-6
3) Hogewood/Probst (ASU) def. Sawmynaden/Jose (CIT), 9-7
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1) Danny Dossetor (CIT) def. Alex Probst (ASU), 7-6, 6-1
2) Dimitar Dimitrov (ASU) def. Ananda Sawmynaden (CIT), 6-2, 7-6
3) James Eason (CIT) def. Ryan Brookshaw (ASU), 6-2, 6-2
4) David Lara (CIT) def. Andrew Waters (ASU), 6-4, 6-2
5) Andrew Taylor (ASU) def. Nick Medica (CIT), 6-3, 7-5*
6) Robert Hogewood (ASU) def. Derek Jose (CIT), 6-3, 7-6
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 6, 4, 5
* Clinching match