The Citadel 4, Charlotte 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel tennis team extended its winning streak to three when the Bulldogs defeated the Charlotte 49ers, 4-3, on Friday afternoon at the Earle Tennis Center. The Bulldogs improve their record to 4-8, 1-2 SoCon while Charlotte falls to 4-10, 3-2 Atlantic 10.
The Citadel began the match by claiming the doubles point by winning two of three. At doubles No. 2, David Orces and Derek Dickey finished first but fell, 8-4, to the 49ers' Michael Anders and Krzysztof Kwasniewicz. On court No. 1, Yufo Sutantio and Alberto Diaz defeated Charlotte's Mortiz Bernhoerster and Jesse Hutchinson, 8-6, leaving the No. 3 doubles to determine the point.
Luis Morett and Tripp Larkin paired against the 49ers' Charles Martin-Lecamp and Chris Huynh and built a 6-5 lead. Morett and Larkin then pulled away and won the set, 8-5, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage going into singles play.
The Citadel was up 2-0 when David Orces downed Charlotte's Anders, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. The 49ers responded, winning the next two matches to tie the score 2-2. At the No. 6 position, Tripp Larkin fell, 7-6, 6-1, to Charlotte's Kwasniewicz while Derek Dickey lost, 6-4, 6-4, to the 49ers' Davison on court No. 4.
Sutantio and Diaz lifted the Bulldogs back on top for the victory. Sutantio won, 7-6, 6-3, over Charlotte's Bernhoerster at singles No. 1 while Diaz rallied for a 6-3, 7-5 defeat against the 49ers' Anders on court No. 2.
Charlotte's Hutchinson gained the last point of the match in three sets against Morett. At the No. 5 position, Morett fell 6-2, 6-3 after winning the first set, 6-3.
The Bulldogs will resume Southern Conference action when they host Elon on Sunday, March 21 at 12 p.m. at the Earle Tennis Center.
Mississippi 6, College of Charleston 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Facing their toughest opponent of the season, the College of Charleston (8-3, 3-0) fell to No. 14 Mississippi (12-2, 3-1 SEC) by a score of 6-1 in a non-conference men's tennis match at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
"It was a good challenge for our team to face a program the quality of Mississippi and we learned from this experience" said head coach Jay Bruner. "Having an opportunity to compete against such a good team is good for our program".
Despite the loss, there were several high points for the Cougars as the doubles pairing of junior Lukas Koncilia and sophomore Tom Delme (Hamoir, Belgium) notched an 8-5 victory over the 51st ranked tandem of Jonas Lutjen and Tucker Vorster at the No. 1 spot. Ole Miss, however, was able to take the doubles point with 8-3 and 8-4 victories, respectively, at the second and third spots.
The Rebels notched convincing victories in five of the singles matches but would not be able to do so against junior Mickael Boyer (Meudon, France). He earned a 7-6 (5), 6-0 decision over Adrian Forberg Skogeng at the No. 4 position.
It was the first meeting between the programs since a 2003 NCAA Regional meeting that resulted in a 4-0 Mississippi victory.
The Cougars will next be in action when they host Charlotte in a non-conference match Saturday, March 20 at the College of Charleston Tennis Center in Mt. Pleasant. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
William & Mary 4, Furman 1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - In men's tennis action, #53 William and Mary defeated Furman 4-1 Friday morning in the second day of competition at the Blue Gray National Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
The Tribe took the doubles point after picking up wins at number one and number two doubles. Jamie Whiteford and Sebastien Vidal recorded an 8-4 win over Paladin seniors Chris Motes and Chris Rhyne at number one, while Anton Andersson and Keziel Juneau beat junior Sawyer Duncan and freshman Andrew Mellow 8-4 in the second doubles match. Play was suspended between the Furman team of seniors Jordan Walters and freshman Carl Lundberg and the Tribe's Daniel Mihalov and Ilja Orre at number three doubles.
In singles action, Furman's lone win came at number five singles, where freshman Andrew Mellow posted a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Andersson. Whiteford defeated Lundberg 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the third singles match, and Richard Wardell beat Walters 6-3, 6-3 at number four. Orre posted a 6-1, 6-4 win over Droll at number six singles to clinch the win for the Tribe.
Play was suspended at number one and number two singles. Juneau was leading Duncan 3-6, 6-3, 4-2 in the first singles match, while Motes was leading Vidal 4-6, 6-3, 4-2 at number two.
Furman (5-8, 2-0 SoCon) will play San Diego State on Saturday in the final day of competition at the Blue Gray National Classic.