Georgia Southern 4, Wofford 3
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Avenging a 2007 season loss, the Georgia Southern men’s tennis team came out strong Saturday afternoon opening conference play at the Hanner Tennis Complex, defeating Wofford, 4-3, for its first conference victory of the season. The Eagles took the doubles point and singles wins from Emmanuel Nkoueleue, Borja Malet and Matthew Sands pushed Georgia Southern to a 4-4 overall record and 1-0 in conference play. The Terriers suffered their second conference loss of the season and fell to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Conference.
Two of three wins in the doubles sector gave the Eagles a 1-0 advantage rolling into singles action. The number one duo of Nkoueleue (Douala, Cameroon) and sophomore Borja Malet (Barcelona, Spain) were the first off the court with an 8-5 victory over Andrew Stubbs/George Kernodle. The win pushed the Eagle duo to a 7-1 dual mark and 13-5 overall season record. Joris De Weerdt and Gregory Bekkers secured the doubles point for Georgia Southern at the three seed with an 8-6 win over Terriers Christopher Williams and Alan Donald.
The Eagles carried the same momentum into singles action, quickly pushing the lead to 3-0 Georgia Southern. Malet gave Georgia Southern a 2-0 lead at the four seed with a quick decision over Williams, 6-4, 6-1. Pushing the lead even further, junior Sands, a native of Nassau, Bahamas, downed Michael Schecter at the six seed, 6-4, 6-2. All eyes turned to lone senior Nkoueleue at the one seed where he found himself down 5-2 in the second set after easily conquering the first set, 6-2. The lone senior broke Stubbs twice to overcome the deficit and take the lead 6-5. Stubbs had a chance to tie the set 6-all as he found himself up 40-0 in the twelfth game, but Nkoueleue persevered again and broke the Terrier to claim the set, 7-5, and clinch the win for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern is back in action hosting Hampton March 5. First serve is set for 11 a.m.
Georgia Southern 4, Wofford 3
Doubles:
1. Emmanuel Nkoueleue/Borja Malet (GSU) d. Andrew Stubbs/George Kernodle (WC) 8-5
2. Richard Cahi/Paul Bartholomy (WC) d. Matthew Sands/Philip Prins (GSU) 8-6
3. Joris De Weerdt/Gregory Bekkers (GSU) d. Christopher Williams/Alan Donald (WC) 8-6 *
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles:
1. Emmanuel Nkoueleue (GSU) d. Andrew Stubbs (WC) 6-2, 7-5 *
2. George Kernodle (WC) d. Joris De Weerdt (GSU) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (4)
3. Alan Donald (WC) d. Gregory Bekkers (GSU) 7-6 (6), 6-7 (2), 1-0 (7)
4. Borja Malet (GSU) d. Christopher Williams (WC) 6-4, 6-1
5. Paul Bartholomy (WC) d. Mark Paetz (GSU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Matthew Sands (GSU) d. Michael Schecter (WC) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 2, 5, 3
*Clinched the match
Elon 6, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? No. 60 Elon claimed two of the three doubles bouts and then captured five of the six singles matches to post a 6-1 Southern Conference men’s tennis victory at Chattanooga to open league play Saturday afternoon at the Champion’s Club.
The Mocs (8-2 overall, 0-1 SoCon) lost for the first time in eight matches while the two-time defending league champion Phoenix (6-3 overall, 1-0 SoCon) extended its winning streak to 14 consecutive conference regular-season contests, dating back to the last four matches of the 2006 campaign prior to a perfect 9-0 SoCon showing in 2007.
“We played a tough Chattanooga team,” Elon coach Michael Leonard said. “We are excited to start conference play and get a win. We have a young team and we are getting better and better all of the time.”
Alberto Rojas and Mason Schermerhorn turned back Badr Bouabdellah and Pavel Vostrikov 8-4 at No. 2 and Chase Helpingstine and Oscar Podlewski held off Hasan Hamadeh and Rick van de Bovenkamp 8-5 at No. 3 to secure the doubles point for Elon. Chattanooga picked up a doubles win at No. 1 when Razvan Axente and Peter Sauska outlasted Damon Gooch and Philip Nemec 8-7 (7-4).
The Phoenix then received five-straight victories on the singles scene ? Nemec (over van de Bovenkamp 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5), Helpingstine (over Hamadeh 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6), Gooch (over Bouabdellah 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1), Rojas (over Vostrikov 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4) and Schermerhorn (over Sauska 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3). The Mocs scored at No. 2 when Axente edged Podlewski 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 10-8.
Riding an active 27-match winning streak on its home courts dating back to the 2005 campaign, Elon will begin a week of SoCon action at home when Appalachian State visits the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Chattanooga hosts Mercer at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Furman 4, Princeton 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Furman men's tennis team earned a 4-3 defeat of Princeton, remaining undefeated at home.
The Paladins earned the first point with a sweep of the doubles matches. At the number one spot, the duo of Chris Rhyne and Andrei Chvetsov topped George Carpeni and Alex Krueger-Wyman by a score of 8-4. In the number two spot, the Paladin tandem of Chris Motes and Andy Juc defeated Peter Capkovic and Ryan Kim, 8-0. At number three doubles, Bo Ladyman and Jason Basile earned a win over Mark Gober and Ilya Trubov by a score of 8-4.
The Paladins sealed the win in singles play with victories at the number one, four, and six spots. At the top spot, junior Andy Juc topped Peter Capkovic, 6-7, 6-1, 6-1. Chris Motes earned a win over Charlie Brosens in the number four spot by scores of 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, while freshman Sawyer Duncan recorded a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ilya Trubov in the number six spot.
With the win, the Paladins improve to 2-8 on the season, while Princeton falls to x-x. The Paladins will take the court again on March 9 to begin Southern Conference play with a trip to Georgia Southern.
Complete Results
Doubles
1. Chris Rhyne/Andrei Chvetsov def. George Carpeni/Alex Krueger-Wyman, 8-4
2. Chris Motes/Andy Juc def. Peter Capkovic/Ryan Kim, 8-0
3. Bo Ladyman/Jason Basile def. Mark Gober/Ilya Trubov, 8-4
Singles
1. Andy Juc def. Peter Capkovic, 6-7, 6-1, 6-1
2. Alex Krueger-Wyman def. Bo Ladyman, 7-6, 7-6
3. George Carpeni def. Daniel Knause, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6
4. Chris Motes def. Charlie Brosens, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
5. Ryan Kim def. Jordan Walters, 6-4, 6-4
6. Sawyer Duncan def. Ilya Trubov, 6-2, 6-4
Appalachian State 2, Radford 5
BOONE, N.C.- The Appalachian State men's tennis squad faced one of its toughest opponents of the season on Saturday afternoon, as the Mountaineers took on Radford University in their first home match of the seaon. The Highlanders proved to be a little too much for ASU, as the Mountaineers fell 5-2. With the loss Applachian moves to 2-3 on the season, while Radford remains undefeated at 4-0.
Doubles action got underway first, as Ryan Brookshaw and Lee Floyd played at the No.1 spot. The duo faced a challenging opponent in Martin Sayer and Zack Watson and ended up losing 8-6. Teammates Trent Constance and Peter Jacobs were also unsuccessful against their opponent as they lost 8-5. The only doubles team to pick up a win was Bobby Lake and David Doverspike who won 8-5.
For the second match in a row, the Mountaineers were unable to earn the crucial doubles point.
At the No.1 singles spot, Bobby Lake fell in two sets to his opponent, losing 6-4 and 6-1. Lake's opponent, Martin Sayer holds a national ranking of 57.
Junior Lee Floyd was victorious as the No. 4 spot
as he handily defeated his opponent winning 6-1 and 6-1. Floyd's win helped to keep the Mountaineers alive in the match.
David Doverspike had the most impressive performance of the day, as he went 2-0 on the afternoon. Playing at the No. 6 singles spot, Doverspike took his opponent into three sets, and defeated him 6-4, 2-6 and 6-4.
Senior Ryan Brookshaw also struggled against a nationally ranked opponent, as he fell in two sets, losing 6-2 and 6-2. The loss sealed the Mountaineers fate against Radford.
Appalachian will return to action Tuesday March 4, as they begin conference play against reigning SoCon champion Elon. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. in Burlington, N.C..