Gardner-Webb 4, Wofford 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Despite taking the doubles point, the Wofford College men’s tennis team suffered a tight defeat, falling 4-3 to the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb on Wednesday afternoon at the Reeves Tennis Center.
The match went late into singles action before Gardner-Webb (4-4) sealed the deal. The decisive match came at the No. 3 position, when Yaroslav Prostakov defeated senior Walker Heffron. The two battled three sets, but Wofford (3-4) fell as Prostakov claimed a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
“Gardner-Webb played great today,” remarked 15th season head coach Rod Ray. We won a quick doubles point, and they responded with a lot of courage and they out-competed us in singles. They stuck it to us.
“We needed today. We learned a lot. We’ll get better from it and we’re looking forward to Saturday.”
A competitive doubles round set the tone for the match, as Wofford took two of the three doubles matchups. Sophomore Trevor Gotkowski and junior David Sklar took the first doubles matchup with ease, topping the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ Prostakov and Adam Schmidt, 6-0, at the No. 3 position. Next, senior Rob Galloway and sophomore Haris Poric locked up the doubles point, knocking off stiff competition in Nikita Zverkov and Ernest Albrech, 6-2, at No. 1. Heffron and junior Parks Thompson played at No. 2, falling in a close 7-5 match to Benjamin Kaszas and Brendan Dempsey.
Singles play provided more of the same, with close games deciding the match. Galloway was the first to finish, dispatching Zverkov in two sets, 6-1, 6-2. Next to finish was Thompson. Playing at No. 4, the junior fell to Alberch, 6-4, 6-2. The Runnin’ Bulldogs tied up the team points taking the No. 6 spot. Sophomore Andrew Graham fell in his singles debut, as Ates earned a 7-5, 6-0 victory.
The final three matches would go three sets. Freshman Parks Schoen dropped a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 decision to Brendan Dempsey before Heffron’s loss sealed the Runnin’ Bulldogs victory.
Poric pulled out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victotry over Benjamin Kaszas at No. 2 to end the match 4-3. The reigning SoCon player of the week remains undefeated in singles this season.
The Terriers will be on the road next, as they take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon. First serve is at 12:30 in Conway, South Carolina.
Jacksonville State 4, Samford 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men’s tennis team won the doubles point Wednesday against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, but couldn’t carry over its momentum to singles play as the Bulldogs were upended, 4-3, in a hard-fought, dual-match contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford (0-3) will next be in action Saturday as the Bulldogs return to the road to face the Georgia State Panthers in another critical non-conference matchup.
On Wednesday, Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the match by earning the doubles point. On court No. 3, the Bulldogs’ combination of Fares Kilani and Eduardo Lourido Sanchez blanked Jacksonville State’s duo comprised of Mathias Chaim and Felipe Wenzel, 6-0, while Samford’s tandem of Austin Akers and Henry Moore clinched the point with a 6-2 victory on court No. 2.
“We came out well in the doubles, taking control on court No. 3 and playing solid on court No. 2 to close things out,” said Samford head coach Rahim Esmail. “We didn’t translate any momentum into the singles play. We let them get into the match early on all singles courts and that gave them a boost. We gave them way too much today, and that was a major difference in the match and in the end result.”
In singles play, Jacksonville State (3-4) jumped out to early leads on all six courts by winning every first set.
The Bulldogs were able to battle back for victories on courts No. 1 and No. 6, but the Gamecocks held on for straight-set wins on the middle four matchups to claim the 4-3 decision.
Samford’s Kilani, who proved to be triumphant in both doubles and singles play, rallied back to defeat Jacksonville State on court No. 1, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, while freshman Jake Faundez battled from behind to topple Wenzel in the No. 6 singles matchup, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (9).
Wednesday’s contest marked the Bulldogs’ first home match of the 2015 season. Samford opened the year with back-to-back road losses against nationally-ranked opponents in No. 36 Alabama and No. 28 Mississippi State.
The Samford University men’s tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs return to the road for a critical non-conference test against the Georgia State Panthers to be held at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Atlanta, Georgia.