Furman 4, Davidson 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men's tennis team defeated Davidson, 4-3, in the team's Southern Conference opener Sunday afternoon at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
The Paladins won the doubles point after picking up wins at number two and number three doubles. Freshman Andrew Mellow and junior Sawyer Duncan defeated Joe Schafer and Kevin Moore 8-6 in the number two spot, while senior Jordan Walters and junior Andrei Chvetsov posted an 8-2 win over Sam Burns and Chris Mark in the third doubles position. Davidson's Walker Lyons and Calum Gee defeated seniors Chris Motes and Chris Rhyne 8-1 in the number one doubles match.
In singles play, Furman won three matches to solidify the 4-3 win. Motes defeated Eric Noble 6-3, 7-5 in the second doubles match, and Walters beat Lyons 6-2, 6-1 at number three doubles. The other four singles matches proved to be much closer, all going past two sets. At number four singles, Paladin freshman Carl Lundberg pulled out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Mark to seal the Furman victory.
Davidson notched three singles wins, with Schafer defeating Duncan 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 at number one singles and Gee beating Chvetsov 4-6, 6-1, (10-5) in the fifth singles match. Burns had a close 6-4, 1-6, (10-8) win over Mellow at number six doubles to end the match.
Furman (3-3, 1-0 SoCon) will play host to Clemson Thursday at 2 p.m.
Samford 7, Gadsden State 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to three-consecutive matches Sunday as the Bulldogs cruised past the Gadsden State Cardinals for a 7-0 victory held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford (3-1) swept all three of the doubles matches to earn the first point of the contest then reeled off six-consecutive victories in singles play to conclude its 7-0 triumph. During the singles competition, the Bulldogs received wins from Scott Foster, Adam Witcher, John Flaniken, Michael Browder, Joe Hunsicker and Mark Lange.
During its season-opening, four-match homestand, Samford dropped a 7-0 decision to Georgia State, but then streaked to three-consecutive victories against Columbus State 4-3, University of New Orleans 6-1 and Columbus State (0-4).
Samford dominated Sunday's match and won all six singles courts in straight sets. In doubles play, the Bulldogs earned victories of 8-6 on court No. 1, 8-1 on court No. 2 and 8-2 in the No. 3 doubles matchup.
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for an instate contest against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
USC Upstate 6, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern men's tennis team opened its 2010 home schedule Sunday morning (Feb. 14) falling to No. 72 USC Upstate, 6-1. Alain Garrido captured the lone singles win for the Eagles from the No. 4 seed. The loss dropped GS to 2-5 on the year, while the Spartans picked up their first win of the season, improving to 1-3.
USC Upstate jumped ahead early in the match, sweeping the doubles matches for the early point. The courts finished in numerical order with Javier Tori and Renzo Airaldi taking an 8-2 decision from the top seed, while Jack Roux and Marco Linconir came back from an early deficit to clinch the point with an 8-3 victory over No. 2. With the point already won, Edgar Rodriguez and Ramiro Blanco completed the sweep at No. 3, 8-4.
The Spartans carried their doubles momentum into singles action, quickly pushing the score to 3-0 with straight set wins at the two and five seeds, respectively. Both Airaldi and Roux defeated their Eagle opponents with 6-2, 6-1 scores. Tori clinched the decision for USC Upstate competing at the No. 3 singles spot. Gregory Bekkers kept the match close in both sets, but succumbed to the Spartan, 6-4, 6-4.
Garrido notched a victory for GS and put the Eagles on the board from the four seed. The sophomore won the first set over Linconir, 7-6 (4), before the Spartan was forced to retire due to an injury. With the overall match score at 4-1, USC Upstate closed out the remainder of the match with victories from the bottom and top seeds.
Juan Manuel Melian Puigventos took his Spartan opponent, Rodriguez, into a first set tiebreak, but fell, 7-3. Rodriguez took control early in the second set, defeating Melian Puigventos, 6-1, to close out the match.
"We were disappointed in our performance today certainly," said head coach Justin Miles. "But hopefully we can readjust during this week of practice and be prepared for Hampton next weekend."
Georgia Southern continues this three-match homestand welcoming Hampton on Feb. 21. First serve is slated for 10 a.m.
South Carolina 7, Elon 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Elon men's tennis team continued its tough 2010 slate against 46th-ranked South Carolina, falling 7-0 to the Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon at the USC Field House. Five of Elon's (0-6) six opponents have been among the top 75 teams in the country. South Carolina improved to 5-2 on the season.
The teams began the day with doubles action. Despite losing the three matches, Elon was very competitive at number one and two doubles. At the top position, South Carolina's 27th-ranked tandem of Diego Cubas and Ivan Machado defeated Elon's Chase Helpingstine and Alberto Rojas, 8-6. The Gamecocks' Pedro Campos and Ivan Cressoni earned the same result over Philip Nemec and Cody Stauffer-MacDowell at number two. Johannes Pulsfort and Alexander Kostanov completed the sweep with an 8-3 victory over Clark Howell and Eric Turner.
In singles competition, Cubas earned a 6-1, 6-3 win against Nemec at number one. Campos put the Gamecocks up 3-0, defeating Helpingstine, 6-3, 6-2. Machado clinched the match for South Carolina, posting a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rojas at number four. Elon's Eric Turner dropped set one, 6-3, but battled back to force a third and deciding set against Kostanov. Kostanov rebounded and earned the 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 win at number three.
Cressoni topped Stauffer-MacDowell, 6-1, 6-4, at number six, before Pulsfort battled out a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Elon freshman Carlos Arboleda at position five.
Elon will make the short trip to Raleigh, N.C. to battle the NC State Wolfpack on Friday, February 19. The match begins at 5 p.m.