Furman 6, Gardner-Webb 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman rolled past Gardner-Webb, 6-1, in men’s tennis action Friday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
The Paladins picked up doubles wins at flights two and three to clinch the opening point. Junior Jacob Behal and freshman Adam Steryous teamed up for a 6-2 win over Brendan Dempsey and Benjamin Kaszas at flight two, then the sophomore duo of Matt Browne and Ben Horst topped Jonathan Walker and Tyler Macy, 6-3, at number three. The Runnin’ Bulldogs posted a win in the top doubles match, as Nikita Zverkov and Ernest Alberch defeated seniors Joel Cook and Alex Christ, 6-3.
The flight two singles match was retired with Zverkov leading Christ, 2-1, tying the team score at one-apiece, before the Paladins swept the remaining singles matches. Browne tallied a 6-5, 6-4 win over Kaszas at flight one, and Steryous beat Albercch, 6-1, 6-5 at number three. Behal bested Dempsey, 6-3, 6-5 at number four, then Horst registered a 6-4, 6-4 victory versus Pepe Batalia at flight five. Furman’s Cook defeated Walker, 6-4, 6-2 to complete the singles slate.
Furman (5-3) will travel to Presbyterian on Tuesday. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
UTSA 4, Samford 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The No. 69-ranked Samford University men's tennis team suffered its first home loss of the 2014 campaign Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision against the UTSA Roadrunners in an early-season, non-conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
"Today was a hard-fought match and we came up just short in the end," said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. "We put ourselves in a position to win on every court, but we couldn't capitalize in some situations. There are still a lot of positives to take out of today. We did a great job at the top of our lineup, as well as down low. Our main focus is getting back to work tomorrow, as we have another tough match on Sunday."
Samford (1-4) suffered its fourth straight defeat of the season Friday, but the first against an opponent not ranked amongst the nation's top 75. Prior to their recent setback, the Bulldogs' losses came on the road versus No. 9-ranked Mississippi State, No. 46 Elon and No. 56 Indiana.
UTSA (3-3) won the all-important doubles point Friday as its combination of Tomas Stillman and Joel Rubio held on to defeat the Bulldogs' No. 2 tandem of Liam Sullivan and Henry Moore, 6-4.
The Roadrunners' doubles victory proved to be an important point against Samford as UTSA held on for a slight 4-3 road win.
The Bulldogs' Elliot Barnwell, Moore and Sullivan all earned decisive straight-set singles victories Friday, but Samford suffered losses on courts No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 en route to its 4-3 non-conference setback.
Friday's defeat proved to be the Bulldogs' first home setback of the 2014 campaign. In Samford's dual-matchup opener, the Bulldogs defeated Mercer at Joe Lee Griffin Field, 5-1.