South Carolina 7, Furman 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina topped Furman, 7-0, in men’s tennis action Sunday morning at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.
The Gamecocks picked up wins in the first two doubles matches to clinch the opening point. Chip Cox and Kyle Koch, currently ranked 24th nationally, teamed up for a 6-1 victory over seniors Alex Christ and Joel Cook in the top spot, then Thiago Pinheiro and Tsvetan Mihov beat junior Jacob Behal and freshman Adam Steryous, 6-2, at number two. The flight three match was unfinished, with Andrew Adams and Andrew Schafer leading sophomores Matt Browne and Ben Horst, 4-3.
In singles play, South Carolina won the top four matches in straight sets, as 41st-ranked Mihov posted a 6-1, 6-0 win versus Christ at flight one, and Adams beat Browne, 6-3, 6-3, at number two. Pinheiro registered a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Steryous in the flight three match-up, while Cox tallied a 6-2, 6-4 win over Behal at number four.
The teams split sets at flight five, as 91st-ranked Schafer won the first set, 6-4, over Paladin rookie Juan Sheppard, but Sheppard returned the favor with a 6-3 second-set victory. Schafer held on for a 6-3 win in the third set for the match. At number six, Sam Swank defeated Horst, 6-5(2), 6-1.
Furman (3-3) returns to action on Feb. 1 when the Paladins open the 2014 home season versus Winthrop at noon at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
UNC Wilmington 5, Appalachian State 2
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Appalachian State University men's tennis opened its 2014 campaign with a 5-2 loss at No. 44 UNC Wilmington on Sunday at The Bird Cage.
The Mountaineers (0-1) picked up two wins in doubles play to jump out to a 1-0 lead over the nationally-ranked Seahawks (1-0), but suffered five losses in singles play as UNC Wilmington snagged victories at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles.
Both squads began the day with the round of doubles competition with Appalachian's top squad of Zach Bost/Sebastien King grabbing a 6-4 win at the No. 1 spot. The No. 2 team of Oliver Casey/Daniel Hoang also picked up a 6-4 win while the Mountaineers' No. 3 tandem of Jack Maddocks/Steve Lake suffered a 6-0 loss.
In singles action, King dropped his match at the No. 1 spot by a 6-5, 6-1 final to UNCW's Sam Williams, but Casey was able to come away with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-5 win over Pedro Mol at No. 2 singles.
UNCW's Zach Hublitz was a winner over Bost by a 6-4, 6-1 final at the No. 3 spot while Hoang suffered a 6-5, 6-4 loss at No. 4 and Matt Saltsgaver dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision to the Seahawk's Karan Salwan.
The match of the day came at the No. 5 spot as Maddocks, a true freshman who joined the Mountaineers just prior to the start of the semester, rallied from a loss in the first and picked up a second-set win, but ultimately fell by a final of 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
Appalachian State returns home for matches against Lees-McRae (Feb. 2) and UNC Asheville (Feb. 16) before embarking on a stretch of 12-straight away from Boone. Each of the next two matches are slated for a 1 p.m. start at Deer Valley Racquet Club.
South Carolina 7, The Citadel 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Citadel tennis team suffered a 7-0 loss to 18th-ranked South Carolina on Sunday at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina improved to 2-0, while the Bulldogs dropped to 0-2 on the season.
The Gamecocks captured the doubles point after winning all three positions.
Dillon Berkabile and Elliott Sperr in the No. 1 spot fell to Chip Cox and Kyle Koch, 6-3, while Peter Bleach/Jackson Pride (8-0) and Oliver Dedding/Connor Grady (8-1) lost their matches at the No.2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.
South Carolina won all six singles competitions in straight sets.
The Bulldogs open their home slate in a doubleheader against Presbyterian on Jan. 25 at the Earle Tennis Center. Matches are scheduled for 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Virginia Tech 6, Davidson 1
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Wrapping up its weekend on the campus of Virginia Tech, the Wildcats dropped a 6-1 decision to nationally-ranked Hokies Sunday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in men's tennis.
Playing its second ranked opponent in as many days, Davidson fell to 0-2, while No. 38 Virginia Tech moved to 2-0 after sweeping the Wildcats and the Yale Bulldogs Sunday.
The Hokies' starting lineup featured three singles players ranked, two of them in the top-60, and one doubles team that was ranked 23rd.
They took the doubles point after earning wins at all three spots. Davidson fought to the end, as the duo of Ethan Kallick and Zack Zapatero (No. 1), and Connor Evins and Ricky Saad (No. 3), each scoring four games, falling 6-4.
In singles play, Jordan Hart scored the lone team point for Davidson. The freshman won his first set 6-4, then up 6-5 and the matched decided, he took a 7-3 tie-breaker for his first career win.
Davidson comes home for its home opener, Jan. 26, against the Winthrop Eagles at 1 p.m.