UNCG 4, Appalachian State 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Freshman Randy Phillips stormed back from a 6-2 deficit in his second set tiebreaker to win his No. 4 singles match and clinch UNCG's 4-3 win over Appalachian State on Saturday at the UNCG Tennis Courts.
With the match knotted at 3 and a 6-2 win in the first set already in his pocket, Phillips and Sebastien King were deadlocked at 6 games each in the second set. Phillips found himself on the verge of heading to a third set as King ran out to a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker, but Phillips came roaring back, winning seven of the next eight points to grab the 7-6 (9-7) win in the set and clinch the match.
With the win, UNCG moved to 8-9 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Conference, jumping past Appalachian State, which fell to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in the league.
Phillips had a flair for the dramatic all day, as he and Chanon Varapongsittikul gutted out a 9-8 (7-5) win over Alain Humblet and Alex Markov at No. 2 doubles to clinch that point and stake the Spartans to an early 1-0 advantage.
Orcun Seyrek and Ahmet Sarioglu dropped King and Philip Kloc at No. 1, 8-6, but the Mountaineers countered with a win at No. 3 as Steve Karendal and Andrew McKinnon topped Jimmy Roueche and Cameron Smith 8-4.
In singles play, App pulled even with Matt Saltsgaver's 6-3, 6-0 win over Roueche at No. 6 and took its only lead of the day when Karendal defeated Smith at No. 5, 6-2, 6-1.
Sarioglu pulled UNCG level with his 7-5, 6-3 win over Kloc at No. 2, and Seyrek put the Spartans back on top with a win over Markov by the same score at No. 1.
Humblet tied the match with his 6-4, 6-3 win over Varapongsittikul at No. 3, putting the fate of the match into the hands of Phillips and King at No. 4.
UNCG has now won three of the last four against the Mountaineers.
Chattanooga 4, Wofford 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Wofford men's tennis team fell by a 4-3 score Saturday afternoon to Chattanooga at the UTC Tennis Center.
With the loss, the Terriers drop to 4-9 overall and 3-3 in SoCon play. The Mocs improve to 13-5 on the season and 4-3 in league action.
The afternoon began with doubles play, which opened with the pairing of Stuart Robertson and Tom Wood falling to Ankit Chopra and Chris Smith (8-4) at the No. 2 position. The Terriers fought back, with Tinus Van Wyk and Rob Galloway downing Manuel Barroetavena and Roberto Vieira (8-4) at the No. 1 spot and Walker Heffron and Jackson Keith defeating Pavels Grigorjevs and Stephen Crofford (8-6) at the No. 3 position to give Wofford the doubles point and the early advantage leading into singles play.
The Mocs took a quick 3-2 advantage at the onset of singles play, picking up quick wins at the No. 5, No. 2, and No. 3 positions. Walker Heffron earned the first singles win of the afternoon for the Terriers, downing Pavels Grigorjevs (6-1, 6-3) in straight sets at the No. 6 position.
After a brief rain delay, the remaining matches at the No. 1 and No. 4 positions were relocated to the indoor courts at the UTC Tennis Center for completion. There, Rob Galloway fought back after dropping the first set to defeat Ankit Chopra (6-7, 6-3. 7-5) at the No. 4 position to tie the match at 3-3. The Mocs claimed the overall match victory as Tinus Van Wyk fell to Roberto Vieira (7-6, 2-6, 6-3) at the No. 1 position.
Furman 4, Elon 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The final four singles matches between the Phoenix and Paladins all needed three sets to determine a winner with Furman's Tyler Droll pulling off a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Elon's Carlos Arboleda at number six to secure the 4-3 win for the host team in Southern Conference men's tennis action on Saturday.
The weather made for an interesting match, beginning with rain that interrupted outdoor play early in the match and then a hailstorm that ultimately moved the conclusion of the final three of the singles matches indoors.
The match was tied at two-all with the matches on courts two, five and six all in the third set when nasty weather rolled through and moved the matches to Furman's indoor courts. At number five, Elon (7-11, 4-3) rookie Juan Madrid battled back for the 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Robbie Aru to give the Phoenix a slim 3-2 advantage.
At number two, Phoenix freshman Stefan Fortmann and Alex Christ went toe-to-toe and headed into a tiebreaker with the deciding set at 6-6. Christ tied the score for the Paladins, pulling out the 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) decision against one of Elon's top rookies.
Everything hinged on the result on court six, Droll gaining the upper hand midway through the final set and pulling out the three-setter against Arboleda to give Furman (7-12, 4-2) its fourth conference victory.
Elon's top singles player, Cameron Silverman, remained unbeaten in league action after a 7-5, 6-2 win against Andrew Mellow. Freshman Jordan Kaufman also continued his strong play against SoCon foes, moving to 6-1 on the year after a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Joel Cook at number three. Kaufman moved to the number three spot with senior Eric Turner sidelined due to a nagging injury.
Furman gained what proved to be a very critical doubles point to begin the match with wins at number two and three. Silverman and Fortmann paired for the first time all season, rolling to an 8-2 win against Christ and Cook on court one for Elon's lone doubles victory.
Samford 5, Davidson 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Hunting for its third league win of the season, Davidson gave Samford all it could handle as the Wildcats played five three-set matches, but were unable to pull through in a 5-2 setback on Saturday afternoon in men's tennis Southern Conference action at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford improved to 12-3 overall and 6-1 in league play, while Davidson dropped its third 5-2 match in a row to fall to 6-11 overall and 2-5 in the SoCon.
After the Bulldogs swept all three doubles positions, the Wildcats looked to earn the team win in singles action as they forced Samford into five three-set matches. Joe Schafer won his second third-set affair of the season at No. 1 when he regrouped from dropping the first set, 6-3, by capturing 6-2 and 6-3 decisions in the next two sets.
Freshman Nicky Kunz earned the second team point for Davidson when he became the first Wildcat to reach 10 wins this year on the strength of a 6-4, 6-4 decision at No. 3. The first-year player ran his record to 10-7 in singles, 4-3 vs. the SoCon.
Chris Mark, Calum Gee, Robert Lightbourn and Connor Evins each forced a third set in their matches, but were unable to prevail. Mark took the first set in a tie-breaker (7-4), but fell 6-1, 6-3 in the next two at No. 2.
Gee also took the first set, 6-2, but lost 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles, while Lightbourn, playing in his sixth three-set match of the season, came up short 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 5. The sophomore was playing his third straight three-set match.
Evins rounded out the three-setters at No. 6 singles when he dropped a 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 decision to Garrison Laduca. The sophomore dropped his second match in a row after rattling off a seven-match win streak, falling to 8-4 and 5-2 in league play.