Appalachian State 5, Gardner-Webb 2
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Backed by wins in five of six singles matches, Appalachian State University men's tennis earned a 5-2 win over Gardner-Webb on Thursday at Webb Tennis Complex. The win marked the third-straight for the Mountaineers (3-2), while Gardner-Webb (2-6) is off to a rocky start in its non-conference season.
Following ASU's success against East Carolina, the Apps began the match with their revised doubles lineups. At No. 2 doubles, seniors Alain Humblet and Alex Markov found success with an 8-3 victory, but the Runnin' Bulldogs were not easily dismissed.
Gardner-Webb pulled out 8-5 wins at both No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, earning the first point of the match.
In singles, however, the Black and Gold stole the show. After falling to four demanding opponents to start the year, No. 1 Mountaineer Markov picked up a straight-sets victory, 6-4, 6-4 for his first win of the season. Fellow senior Philip Kloc followed suit with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles.
Sophomore Matt Saltsgaver also notched a two-set win for the Apps, taking the No. 6 match, 6-3, 7-5.
Appalachian's Humblet stumbled in his first set but recovered well, winning his No. 3 match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
ASU's final win of the day came at No. 5 singles, where senior Steve Karendal dropped his second set but dominated the third, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Gardner-Webb's only singles win came in the No. 4 slot, as Roman Piftor scored the Runnin' Bulldogs' second match point, 7-5, 6-3.
With five singles-matches wins, the Mountaineers clinched the 5-2 win for their third-straight victory.
Appalachian State continues action this weekend with a road trip to No. 74 ETSU on Saturday before hosting Belmont on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Deer Valley Racquet Club.
Charlotte 5, Davidson 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Davidson men's tennis team battled in all six singles matches, but came up just short, 5-2, in falling to cross-county rival Charlotte on Thursday afternoon.
Davidson (3-4) saw its all-time mark fall to 11-13 vs. the 49ers, who improved to 7-2 on the season.
The match started out solid for the Wildcats, led by the No. 37 doubles team of Joe Schafer and Calum Gee. The pair picked up their fourth straight win to improve to 5-1 on the year with an 8-4 triumph at No. 1.
Kevin Moore and Nicky Kunz scored their first win together on the year with an 8-5 victory at No. 2, while Chris Mark and Connor Evins remained unbeaten at 5-0 with an 8-5 decision at No. 3 to give Davidson a 1-0 lead in team points.
Charlotte came back, scoring two three-set singles wins at No. 3 and 5, and took five of the six matches overall for the win.
Kunz rattled off his fifth singles win in a row with a strong three-set affair as he was the lone 'Cat to earn a win in singles action. The freshman dropped his first set, 6-2, but charged back to earn a pair of 7-5 decisions at No. 2. He is now 5-2 on the season.
Gee and Evins battled through their three-set matches, but just could not come through in the end. Gee took the middle set, 6-4, but lost 6-2, 6-3 in sets one and two. Evins also took the middle set, 6-3, and nearly had the first set, falling 7-5. He then dropped the final set, 6-4.
Schafer played to a first-set tiebreaker against Jack Williams at No. 1, but fell 7-5 in the tiebreaker. He then dropped the match on a 6-2 second-set decision.
Robert Lightbourn fell at No. 4 by the count of 6-4, 6-3, while Moore dropped his first singles match of the season, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 6.
Davidson continues its six-match road swing with matches March 3-4 at Georgia Southern and Central Florida.