Elon 4, Chattanooga 3
ELON, N.C. - With the match knotted at three-all, Elon rookie Jordan Kaufman pulled out a three-set victory over Chattanooga's Jackson Tresnan at number five singles to secure the 4-3 victory for the Phoenix in Southern Conference men's tennis action at The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. Elon (5-6, 2-0) has won 13 straight league victories at home and eight consecutive matches against the Mocs.
Kaufman and Tresnan produced an entertaining match all afternoon. In the opening set, Kaufman trailed 4-0, before winning six games in a row to take the set 6-4. Tresnan trailed 3-2 in the second set but the Chattanooga junior earned the next four games to force a deciding set. With action on the other five courts concluded and the match now tied, all eyes turned to court five to see how the third set would play out.
With the crowd support behind him, Kaufman jumped out quickly, collecting two break points to go on top 4-0. Tresnan fought back and made it 4-2, before Kaufman won the next game. Elon had a match point, but Tresnan made it deuce and then won the game to make it 5-3. With the serve back in his hands, Kaufman took the set and the 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 match-clincher.
Chattanooga got off to a fast start, picking up the critical doubles point with victories at number two and three. Elon's top duo of Cameron Silverman and Eric Silverman cruised to an 8-3 victory against Chris Smith and Ankit Chopra to get things started. But the Mocs evened things up when Jackson Tresnan and Pavels Grigorjevs topped Christopher Geaslen and Andrew Prince, 8-3, on court three. Manuel Barroetavena and Roberto Vieira broke midway through the set on court two and then took an 8-5 doubles point-clinching win over Stefan Fortmann and Kaufman.
In singles action, Elon quickly pulled ahead, rolling to wins at number two and three. Fortmann dropped only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Smith. The Phoenix freshman has now won six consecutive singles matches. Turner had little trouble with Stephen Crofford, earning a 6-2, 6-1 win to put the Phoenix on top 2-1.
Chattanooga tied the score again when Barroetavena came up with a 6-4, 6-0 win against rookie Juan Madrid on court four. The tie was short-lived as Silverman topped Vieira in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, at number one to pull Elon back ahead, 3-2.
The match at number six was one of the most competitive of the afternoon, both sets requiring a tiebreaker to decide the set. Grigorjevs pulled out the 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5) victory over Prince to make it 3-3 and put all the pressure on court five.
Samford 6, Wofford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to four-consecutive matches Saturday as the Bulldogs tallied a 6-1 victory against the Wofford Terriers in the Southern Conference opener for both teams held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the win, Samford (7-2, 1-0 SoCon) improved to 3-2 at home this season and remained undefeated in nearly a month. The Bulldogs' most recent setback was a 4-2 loss against Southern Miss on Feb. 11. Since then, Samford has rattled off consecutive wins versus Jacksonville State 4-2, Eastern Kentucky 5-2, Morehead State 7-0 and Wofford (1-7, 0-1 SoCon) 6-1.
Contrasting with the Bulldogs, the Terriers are in the midst of a five-match losing streak. Wofford earned its lone victory of the 2012 campaign on Jan. 31 at home versus USC Lancaster, 6-1. Since then, the Terriers have dropped consecutive matches against Florida Atlantic 6-1, UNC Asheville 6-1, Charlotte 4-2 and Gardner-Webb 5-2.
Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead Saturday by winning the doubles point. On court No. 3, the Bulldogs' combination of Fernando Costa and Carson Kadi cruised to an 8-0 victory, while Samford's Zac Dunkle and Alexander Sajonz clinched the point on court No. 1 with an 8-4 triumph over Wofford's tandem of Tinus Van Wyk and Rob Galloway.
Both of the Bulldogs' aforementioned doubles teams improved their spring dual-match records to 6-3 with Saturday's victories.
In singles play, Samford received quick straight-set wins from Kadi, Costa and Dunkle. The Bulldogs' Kadi tallied a 6-1, 6-0 triumph on court No. 2, while Costa breezed to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the No. 4 singles matchup. Dunkle, Samford's junior from Atlanta, Ga., clinched the Bulldogs' team victory with a 6-4, 7-6(6) win on court No. 1.
Costa, Samford's sophomore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, tallied his fourth-straight singles win and improved his dual-match record this season to 8-1 on court No. 4.
On courts No. 3 and No. 5, Samford registered three-set singles wins from Elliot Barnwell and Sajonz.
Barnwell, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Mancetter, United Kingdom, rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over the Terriers' Jackson Keith on court No. 3, while Sajonz earned a similar come-from-behind triumph over Wofford's Tom Wood in the No. 5 singles contest, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Samford's Barnwell improved his record on the season to 8-1.
Furman 6, Winthrop 1
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Furman men's tennis team rolled to a 6-1 win over Winthrop Saturday at Memorial Courts in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Eagle duo of Dylan Comerford and Rich Meade notched an 8-5 win over sophomores Joel Cook and Alex Christ in the top doubles match, and Paladin junior Andrew Mellow and freshman Jacob Behal evened the score with an 8-6 victory over Luka Stsanic and Yuta Hirokawa in the second doubles contest. In the decisive third match, Furman sophomore Nate Collins and senior Watson George came away with a 9-8 triumph over Naday Ruppin and Chase Altieri to clinch the doubles point.
In singles action, Mellow defeated Ruppin, 6-4, 7-6 in the top match, while Christ came from behind to beat Comerford, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 at number two. Cook recorded a 6-2, 6-4 win over Stanic in the fourth singles match, and junior Robbie Aru beat Meade, 6-4, 6-4, in the fifth-seed match-up. Fellow junior Tyler Droll posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Altieri at number six to round out the Furman victories.
Hirokawa scored the lone Winthrop point, defeating Behal 6-3, 7-6, in the third singles contest.
Furman (3-8) returns home to play host to Coastal Carolina Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Stetson 6, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis team couldn't break through on Saturday afternoon against #70 Stetson. The Eagles fell by a 6-1 score to the Hatters at Hanner Tennis Complex.
The Eagles (1-11) began the match by narrowly losing the doubles point. Marco Osorio and Daniel Rush put the Eagles behind by falling at No. 2 doubles to begin play. Andrew Dromsky and Alain Garrido, fresh off their win over the #57 doubles team in the country, leveled the match with an 8-5 win at #1 doubles. With the doubles point on the line, Kyle Hoffman and Albert Codina Sala narrowly were defeated, 8-6, in a thriller at #3 doubles.
The Hatters used the momentum gained from winning the doubles point to fuel them in singles play. Sebastien Felt and Hoffman fell at No. 6 and No. 2 singles to give Stetson a 3-0 lead. The Hatters clinched the match when Garrido was defeated, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 1 singles. Codina Sala lost, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 3 singles, while Rush lost at No. 5 singles, 7-6, 6-2, to give Stetson their total of six match victories. The lone singles win for the Eagles came on the racket of Dromsky at No. 4 singles, notching his second match victory of the day, when he prevailed in a third-set match tiebreaker, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.
The schedule of play for the weekend series between Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Stetson has been altered. Georgia Southern's bout with in-state rival Georgia State has been rescheduled for Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at Hanner Tennis Complex. The scheduled match between Georgia State and Stetson has been canceled.
Charlotte 4, The Citadel 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. - David Orces, James Atkinson and Elliott Sperr captured singles victories against Charlotte in a heart breaking 4-3 loss at the Earle Tennis Center. The Citadel tennis team has dropped to 4-7 on the season while the 49ers improved to 7-4.
Orces in the No. 1 position captured a point for the Dogs defeating Jack Williams in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. The Bulldogs' junior picked up his fourth win on the season, improving his record to 4-4.
In the No. 4 spot, Atkinson defeated his 49ers rival Paul Cisti 6-3, 6-2 to capture his first singles win at home and raise his record to 5-6.
Sperr, the Dogs' singles leader, defeated Anthony Davidson in a thrilling three-set match. The sophomore battled his foe in the first set and won 7-6. Davidson evened the playing field by winning the second set 6-3, but Sperr outplayed Davidson in the deciding set to win 10-6. With the win, Sperr improved his record to 7-4.
Although the Bulldogs did not win the doubles point, the duo of Alex Howle and Sperr won in the No. 3 position over Cisti and Davidson 8-6. With that victory, the Dogs claimed their first doubles win at home this season. The Citadel duo leads the team with a 5-6 record.
After the 49ers took the doubles point, the Bulldogs could not hold off Charlotte in the second, third, and fifth singles positions.
The Dogs will take a day off before returning to the courts for their last match of non-conference play. The Citadel will take on Buffalo on Monday at 1 p.m., at the Earle Tennis Center.