Furman 4, The Citadel 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- In a match that spanned two days, the Furman men's tennis team defeated The Citadel 4-2 Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
The teams started the match on Friday, when the Bulldogs won the doubles point before afternoon rain showers delayed competition. Alberto Diaz and Yufo Sutantio defeated Paladin seniors Chris Motes and Chris Rhyne 8-6 at number one doubles, while Derek Dickey and David Orces teamed up for an 8-4 win over freshman Andrew Mellow and junior Sawyer Duncan at number two doubles. Josh Cook and Luis Morett completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory over junior Andrei Chvetsov and freshman Carl Lundberg in the third doubles position.
The teams completed the match with singles action on Saturday morning, with Furman picking up four wins for the team victory. Motes defeated Diaz 6-2, 6-2 at number two singles, and Lundberg defeated Orces 7-6, 6-0 at number three singles. In the number four singles match, Mellow posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Cook, while freshman Tyler Droll posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over Morett in the sixth singles match.
Dickey defeated Rhyne 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 for the Bulldogs' lone singles point, while the number one singles match between Sutantio and Duncan was unfinished with Duncan leading 6-4, 6-0, 3-0.
Elon 5, Samford 1
ELON, N.C. - The Elon men's tennis team picked up its third consecutive victory and remained undefeated in the Southern Conference with a 5-1 win against the Samford Bulldogs at The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. Elon junior Philip Nemec earned the match-clinching victory at the top singles spot for the second straight match. Elon improved to 3-8 overall, 2-0 in conference action. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-3 on the season and are still looking for their first SoCon win with a 0-2 mark.
Elon and Samford split doubles matches at number one and three so the team point came down to the number two match. Nemec and sophomore Cody Stauffer-MacDowell pulled out the 8-5 win over Ryan Shidler and Joe Hunsicker to give the Phoenix the early lead. Elon juniors Chase Helpingstine and Alberto Rojas extended their winning streak to three straight, cruising to an 8-0 defeat of Carl Abalos and Oliver Reynolds at the top doubles spot.
In singles action, Elon got up a set in three of the six matches. At number six, Thomas Darling pushed Elon ahead with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Adam Witcher. Helpingstine continued his impressive play this season, taking a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Scott Foster to give the Phoenix a 3-0 advantage. Helpingstine has won four straight matches and owns a 7-4 dual mark on the year.
After taking the first set 6-3, Nemec won a hotly contested second set, 7-6 (5), over Zac Dunkle to clinch the match for the Phoenix. Nemec has won three straight at the top singles position.
The final three singles matches went to a third set with Elon players evening the score after Samford had won the first set in each bout. Alberto Rojas was forced to retire late in the third set at number four, giving Samford's Carson Kadi a 6-3, 2-6, 5-4 ret., victory. At number five, Stauffer-MacDowell outlasted Abalos, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Rain did not allow a winner to be determined in the tightest match of the afternoon as Eric Turner and Oliver Reynolds were unable to play out the final points of the number three singles match. The third set was tied 6-6 with Turner serving at 5-6 in the breaker before Mother Nature halted the match.
Davidson 7, Chattanooga 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Off since Feb. 27, the Davidson men¹s tennis team showed no affects from the extended layoff, cruising to their third straight 7-0 win, this one coming over Chattanooga in Southern Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Knobloch Indoor Tennis Center.
The Wildcats, starting a five-match homestand, earned their first league win of the season to improve to 1-1, 7-3 overall. Chattanooga fell to 1-9 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon. Davidson also evened the all-time series mark at 9-9.
Davidson, which last played two matches on Feb. 27, came out and captured the doubles point to set the tone for the afternoon. The 'Cats No. 1 team of Eric Noble and Joe Schafer pushed their win streak to three straight with an 8-6 win, while the team of Walker Lyons and Calum Gee sealed the doubles point with an 8-5 victory. The duo also have a three-match win streak and own a team-best 8-1 doubles mark.
The strong play continued in singles action, where Davidson swept all six matches. Noble tallied an easy 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 over Chris Smith, while Schafer registered his seventh singles win of the year with a 6-4, 7-6 win at No. 1. The freshman is now 4-1 at the top singles spot this year for the 'Cats.
Lyons needed an extra set, but still was able to push his win streak to three straight after a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 2 position over Roberto Vieira. Three of Lyons' six singles wins have come at the No. 2 spot.
Gee continued his hot play as of late, rolling to his seventh straight singles win after a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5. The sophomore ran his record to 7-1 on the season (2-0 SoCon), second-best on the team to freshman Chris Mark, who also cruised to a two-set win. Mark, who earlier this year had a five-match win streak, ran his current win streak to four straight after a 6-0, 6-1 win over Sam Parfitt at No. 4. The freshman is 9-1 on the year.
Rounding out the winning afternoon was senior Sam Burns with his third singles win in a row. and sixth win overall, after scoring a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Rick vande Bovenkamp at the No. 6 spot.