Thursday
Furman 5, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C -- The Wofford men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 64 Furman Thursday afternoon at Reeves Tennis Center in the team's last home match of the season. The match drew a Southern Conference record 723 spectators, including over 120 members of the Boys and Girls Club of Spartanburg.
Wofford (11-7, 4-4) took an early lead by taking two of the three doubles matches to claim the doubles point. After George Kernodle and Richard Cahi stormed past the Furman pairing of Ryan Friend and Chris Gilli for an 8-4 win at the No. 2 slot, senior Jeff Muthig clinched the point for Wofford with an ace in the tiebreak set to seal a 9-8 (7-3) win at the No. 3 position. Collins and Muthig went up 6-3 over Andy Juc and Scott Kahler, but the Paladin duo rallied to tie the match at 8-8. Muthig would not be outdone in the last home match of his career, however, and slammed an ace to the inside to take he and Collins' team-leading ninth doubles win of the season.
The 1-0 lead was short-lived, however, as Furman (15-10, 6-2) took three of the first four singles victories to go up 3-2. Collins recorded a singles win for Wofford at the No. 3 slot, besting Andy Sobczyk 6-4, 6-3 for his ninth singles win of the season. The match marked the sixth time this season that the sophomore Collins has won in both singles and doubles play.
With only the No.4 and No. 5 matches remaining, Wofford needed to win both contests to take the match. The Paladin singles players proved too much for the remaining Terriers, however, and held on to complete the 5-2 Furman win.
"This was a great match and a prime example of what college tennis is all about," head coach Rod Ray said. "There were two excellent teams on the court today, but Furman did a great job and they deserved the win."
Four of Wofford's seniors played the last matches of their careers at Reeves Tennis Center on Thursday. Fridzon, Muthig, Jason McElveen and Hunter Strasburger were each recognized for their individual contributions to the men's tennis program during the pre-match Senior Day ceremony.
Wofford will travel to Boone, N.C., to face Southern Conference foe Appalachian State on April 14. The match will begin at noon and will be the Terriers' last outing before the Southern Conference tournament in Charleston, S.C., beginning on April 12.
WOFFORD MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS
Apr 12, 2007 at Reeves Tennis Center (Spartanburg, S.C.)
#64 Furman 5, Wofford 2
Singles competition
1. #97 Andy Juc (FUR) def. Andrew Stubbs (WOF) 6-4, 6-3 2. Bo Ladyman (FUR) def. George Kernodle (WOF) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) 3. Scott Collins (WOF) def. Andy Sobczyk (FUR) 6-4, 6-3 4. Chris Gilli (FUR) def. Alex Fridzon (WOF) 6-4, 6-2 5. Daniel Knause (FUR) def. Richard Cahi (WOF) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) 6. Jordan Walters (FUR) def. Christopher Williams (WOF) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Brian Crook/Bo Ladyman (FUR) def. Alex Fridzon/Andrew Stubbs (WOF) 9-8 (7-3) 2. Richard Cahi/George Kernodle (WOF) def. Ryan Friend/Chris Gilli (FUR) 8-4 3. Scott Collins/Jeff Muthig (WOF) def. Andy Juc/Scott Kahler (FUR) 9-8 (7-3)
Men’s Tennis Rallies Past Jacksonville State
Chattanooga 4, Jacksonville State 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--The Chattanooga men’s tennis team dug out of an early hole and closed out Jacksonville State 4-3 after Michael Hangstefer won a three-set match at the number six position.
Hangstefer won the first set of the deciding match 6-2 over Diego Pazsoldan, but dropped the second set 6-4 before claiming the winning set 6-3.
Jacksonville State, who has already clinched the regular season Ohio Valley Conference title, sprinted to a 3-0 lead by claiming the doubles point and with quick wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches.
The Mocs rallied with singles wins by Badr Bouabdellah, Tim Mittiga, and Razvan Axente before Hangstefer’s clinching win.
Hangstefer’s win was his third straight since working his way back into the lineup last week. He is now 8-1 on the season playing in the sixth position. “He really is playing well” said Chattanooga head coach Carlos Garcia. “I probably should have put him back in (the lineup) earlier.”
The Mocs have now won three straight and are 16-5 on the season with one match remaining before the Southern Conference Championships. The Mocs can match last season’s mark of 17 wins with a win at No. 64 Furman on Saturday.
Thursday’s match was the last home match for senior Mark Fynn. Fynn is 16-5 on the season, playing primarily at the No. 2 postion. “Mark is the man” stated head coach Carlos Garcia. “He has had a great career. His legacy will live on long after he has left UTC. He motivates a lot of people around here, including me.”
Chattanooga men 4, Jacksonville State 3
Champion’s Club
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Doubles (for one team point)
1. Duke-Unkenholz (JSU) def. Fynn-Mittiga (UTC), 8-4
2. Bachino-Saratt (JSU) def. Bouabdellah-Axente (UTC), 8-6
3. Hangstefer-Sauska (UTC) def. Pazsoldan-Robertson (JSU), 8-6
Singles
1. Badr Bouabdellah (UTC) def. Scott Robertson (JSU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Bernado Bachino (JSU) def. Mark Fynn (UTC) 6-4, 6-2
3. Eduardo Saratt (JSU) def. Peter Sauska (UTC), 6-4, 6-0
4. Tim Mittiga (UTC) def. Chris Duke (JSU), 6-2, 6-1
5. Razvan Axente (UTC) def. Joey Unkenholz (JSU), 7-5, 6-2
6. Michael Hangstefer (UTC) def. Diego Pazsoldan (JSU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Wednesday
UNC Wilmington 5, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Wilmington won five singles matches in straight sets to defeat UNC Greensboro, 5-0, in an abbreviated non-conference men’s tennis match at Barber Park’s Indoor Courts on Wednesday afternoon.
Due to rain in the Triad on Wednesday and the lateness in the schedule, the match was moved indoors to Barber Park. Singles matches were given the first priority, as opposed to the normal protocol of playing doubles pro-sets first. UNC Wilmington responded by winning all five singles’
matches that were finished.
UNCG will look to bounce back when it hosts Davidson on Friday at 5 pm in a Southern Conference match-up.
AGATE
UNC Wilmington 5, UNC Greensboro 0
Singles
1. Ciao Piacentini (UNCW) def. Andrey Bubnov (UNCG) 6-3, 6-0 2. Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) vs. Gustavo Bertei (UNCW) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished 3. Grant Holland (UNCW) def. Ian Conchar (UNCG) 6-2, 6-2 4. Dennis Myers (UNCW) def. Arsel Kumdereli (UNCG) 6-3, 6-3 5. Christopher Yee (UNCW) def. William Adeimy (UNCG) 6-2, 6-4 6. Brian Ford (UNCW) def. William John (UNCG) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
Not played