Appalachian State 7, Bethune-Cookman 0
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Appalachian State University men's tennis won its fourth straight match on Wednesday afternoon as the Apps downed Bethune Cookman 7-0 to cap off the Black and Gold's spring break trip to Florida. With the win, ASU improves to 6-3 overall.
The Mountaineers dominated doubles play winning all three matches and earning the early point.
The duo of Alain Humblet and Philip Kloc cruised past Marc Misanovic and Jeff Smallwood 8-2 while Alex Markov and Sebastien King pulled out a close 8-7 victory at the number two spot. Ezekiel Sansing and Andrew McKinnon handily beat Vitor Belucci and Kip Jackson 8-3 at the number three position.
ASU continued with its impressive play, remaining spotless in singles action for the second match in a row.
Markov was victorious at the number one spot, winning 6-4, 6-3 and Humblet downed Santiago Lobelo in two sets as well at the number two position. King and McKinnon kept up Appalachian's dominance over the Wildcats (4-5), as each notched wins at the three and four spots.
Freshman Matt Saltsgaver had the most thrilling singles match of the day, as he lost the first set to Jackson 6-4 but came back to win the last two 6-3, 7-5 (10-8).
Chris Mauch got his first action of the season as he breezed by Belucci 6-2, 6-2.
The Mountaineers look to carry its momentum into a huge Southern Conference matchup with The Citadel, Friday March 11 at 2 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.
Furman 4, St. John's 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Furman men's tennis team concluded a four-match road swing with a 4-3 win over St. John's Wednesday afternoon in Charleston, S.C. The Paladins jumped out to an early lead after winning the doubles point, then notched wins in three of six singles matches for the team victory.
Senior Sawyer Duncan and sophomore Andrew Mellow combined for an 8-1 win over Pavel Cerny and Mike Lampa at number one doubles, and freshmen Joel Cook and Alex Chris beat Matty Najfeld and Mischa Koran, 8-3, in the third doubles match to seal the doubles point for the Paladins. St. John's Gustav Kallen and Milo Hauk defeated senior Andrei Chvetsov and freshman Marco Aru, 8-3, in the second doubles match.
In singles action, Furman posted wins in the top two spots, with Duncan defeating Asaf Honig, 6-1, 6-0, in the number one singles match and Mellow posting a 7-6(7-5), 6-4 win over Stefan Bojic at number two singles. Cook defeated Najfeld, 6-3, 7-6(7-2), in the sixth singles match, giving the Paladins three singles victory for the win.
The Red Storm also picked up three singles wins, with Hauk defeating Chvetsov, 6-2, 6-4, at number three singles, and Kallen beating Christ, 7-5, 6-3, at the number four spot in the line-up. Lampa recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over sophomore Tyler Droll in the number five singles match.
Furman (2-11, 1-1 SoCon) returns home to face Buffalo on March 15 at 3 p.m.
Georgia Southern 4, Florida Gulf Coast 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - Just before the sweeping rains fell on the courts at the Hanner Tennis Complex Wednesday, March 9th, Georgia Southern Men's Tennis gathered enough points to defeat Florida Gulf Coast 4-2. The two teams started with singles play as the radar was cluttered with precipitation. It marked the second-straight win for GSU after a 4-3 win over Southern Conference foe Furman the day before.
"This was a big win for us today, especially after how much yesterday's win took out of us mentally and physically," said Head Men's Tennis Coach Nick Zieziula. "It was big to be able to clinch the match in singles. We stayed sharp mentally and did not let Florida Gulf Coast even us out."
For the second-straight match, the decision came down to the play of sophomore Matthijs Verdam, competing at number-two singles for the third time this year. Verdam won the first set over FGCU's Matthew Rock 6-0, before Rock responded with a second-set 6-4 win. In the third set, Verdam battled to a 6-4 victory and secured the team win.
Sophomore Juan Melian Puigventos recorded the first point for Georgia Southern with straight-set wins, 6-0, 6-1, over Gabriel Echeverry at number-one singles. At the number-three seed, Alain Garrido dropped Steve Binninger 6-1, 6-4. Sebastian Felt battled Flordia Gulf Coast's Dean Tsamas at the fifth spot, recovering from a first set loss (2-6) for a 6-1 win in the second set. Felt won the third set 7-5 to give Georgia Southern its third point.
The Eagles return to the Hanner Tennis Complex courts at 1 p.m. on Monday, March 14th, for an inaugural meeting with Southern Illinois Carbondale.
James Madison 5, The Citadel 2
South Carolina 7, The Citadel 0
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Tennis team dropped a pair of matches Wednesday as they hosted James Madison University and the University of South Carolina in a doubleheader at the Earle Tennis Center. The Bulldogs were topped by the Dukes, 5-2, in the morning before being downed by the Gamecocks, 7-0, in the afternoon.
James Madison (6-4) took an early 1-0 lead in the match by sweeping to win the doubles point. Florent Secntenac and Yaroslav Voznenko paired to defeat the Bulldog tandem of James Atkinson and Dillon Berkabile, 8-3, at the No. 3 slot. Ryan Pool and Greg Vladimirsky sealed the doubles victory for the Dukes at the No. 2 spot after downing Josh Cook and Elliott Sperr, 8-4. Despite a late push from The Citadel's Derek Dickey and David Orces at the top match, Matt King and Bertrand Moulin earned the win, 8-7 (4).
In singles, JMU won two straight sets to take a 3-0 lead. Pool of James Madison defeated Cook at No. 4 and the Dukes' Moulin topped Berkabile at No. 2. Atkinson tallied the first point for the Bulldogs as he completed a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sentenac at the No. 3 position. James Madison clinched the win as Voznenko battled Sperr to a 7-6, 6-2 victory at singles No. 6.
The Dukes and the Bulldogs split the final two spots with JMU's Jovan Milic earning a win over Dickey at the No. 5 slot. Orces rounded out the competition by collecting a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Vladimirsky.
In the afternoon match, South Carolina (6-6) won all three doubles and all six singles matches en route to a 7-0 win against The Citadel.
In doubles, USC's Alexander Kostanov and Chip Cox defeated Cook and Sperr 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. At the No. 3 position, the Gamecocks took an early 7-1 lead. The Bulldog duo of Berkabile and Jeremiah Dye rallied for four straight points to pull within two at 7-5, but Johannes Pulsfort and Chris Sheehan battled for the match point and secured the doubles victory for South Carolina, 8-5. Despite the doubles point already being decided, Dickey and Orces also battled from behind. This time the Bulldog tandem came out on top and defeated Ivan Machado and Nick Jones, 8-6.
In singles action USC used three straight sets to defeat The Citadel. Jones beat Berkabile at No. 2 singles, Harry Menzies collected a victory over Cook at No. 4, and with the No. 5 position the Gamecocks clinched the match as Jake Bowling battled with Dickey.
South Carolina completed the shutout in the remaining three singles positions, but not with as much ease. Sperr forced a third-set super-tiebreaker before Henry Walker collected a 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (5) win for the Gamecocks at the No. 6 slot. Pulsfort narrowly defeated Berkabile, needing a late service break to close out the win 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 3 match. Orces also fought in a third-set super-tiebreaker, but was downed by Alex Kostanov 7-6 (5), 4-6, 1-0 (7).
The Bulldogs will return to action with a pair of weekend matches when they host Southern Conference foes Appalachian State on Friday, March 11 at 2 p.m. and Wofford on Saturday, March 12 at 12 p.m.