Furman 5, Georgia Southern 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman opened the Southern Conference season Saturday, winning the doubles point and capturing four singles en route to a 5-2 win over Georgia Southern at the Mickel Tennis Center.
The Paladin duo of senior Joel Cook and sophomore Matt Browne topped Kyle Hoffman and Rafael Racy, 8-1, at flight two doubles, then freshman Adam Steryous and junior Jacob Behal posted an 8-5 win over Marco Osorio and Nico Degroof in the top doubles to clinch the opening point. Oliver Webb and Christian Kerrigan took the number three doubles match for the Eagles, tallying an 8-5 win over senior Alex Christ and sophomore Ben Horst.
In singles play, Horst recorded a quick 6-1, 6-2 win over Kerrigan at flight six, then Cook beat Racy, 6-4, 6-1, at flight five to give Furman a 3-0 advantage. Behal clinched the team win for the Paladins, besting Osorio, 6-1, 6-3, at number four. The Paladins stretched the lead to 5-0 after Steryous beat Albert Codina Sala, 6-2, 6-2, in the flight two match-up.
The Eagles won the final two matches of the day, as Webb held on for a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Browne at flight one, and Hoffman defeated Christ, 7-6, 6-3, at number three.
Elon 7, Chattanooga 0
ELON, N.C. – The 40th-ranked Elon University men's tennis team opened Southern Conference play today, March 1, with a 7-0 win against Chattanooga at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
Elon came out of the gates with poise as Cameron Silverman and Jordan Kaufman quickly earned breaks on court No. 1 to top Jorge Varon and John Peacey, 8-2. Just a minute later, Stefan Fortmann and Juan Madrid Stefan clinched the doubles point for the Phoenix with an 8-5 win on court No. 5.
Stepping in at No. 6 singles, Ismael Sanchez Delfin made quick work of Derrick Brown, winning 6-1, 6-0. He was shortly followed by Jordan Kaufman on court No. 4, as the junior breezed by Peacey 6-2, 6-0 to give Elon a 3-0 lead.
Not long after Madrid finished, Robert Lindgren clinched the match for the Phoenix with a 6-0, 6-2 win on court No. 2.
Silverman, who is ranked No. 26 in the country, and Madrid then extended the Elon lead to 6-0 with wins on court Nos. 1 and 5, respectively. Silverman finished off Varon 6-1, 6-4 and Madrid beat Austin Boaz 6-2, 6-3.
Brian Kowalski was the only Elon player to lose his respective first set on the afternoon. The junior rallied back to win the second set convincingly before taking the super tiebreaker 10-5 to clinch his match on court No. 3 and the sweep for the Phoenix.
Air Force 7, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C – The Citadel tennis team closed out a competitive weekend with a tough 7-0 loss to Air Force Saturday afternoon at the Earle Tennis Center.
The Bulldogs were set to host a doubleheader against Fairfield and Air Force, but due to inclement weather, the Fairfield match was rained out after doubles play.
Elliot Sperr and Dillon Berkabile went 3-0 in doubles play this weekend, defeating Air Force's Steven Young and Andy Jackson in a thrilling tiebreaker, 8-6.
Head coach Chuck Kriese was proud of the effort and progress he continues to see in his team.
"We played tough matches all weekend and I can see the team starting to come together," said Kriese." It was a wonderful military weekend and I am proud of the toughness and effort I saw in every match."