Dolphins Swim Off With 4-3 Win
March 16, 2008 | Men's Tennis
The University of Jacksonville Dolphins swam away with a 4-3 victory in men's tennis on Sunday. The match began at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday but was postponed to 12:30 p.m. Sunday due to rain. The loss drops the Bulldogs to 2-3 in the conference and 7-9 overall.
The teams began the match with singles play to try and beat out the rain, but only two matches were completed on Saturday.
Jacksonville took a 1-0 lead after Fransisco Riveroll defeated Carlos Quijano 6-0, 6-1 at the three spot.
Gardner-Webb evened things up after Taylor Ferrier won his match 6-2, 6-4 over Alberto Lopez at the six spot.
The two teams headed for shelter tied at 1-1 and then the coaches and umpires decided to resume play on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-1 lead when Grant Van Rensburg downed Vinny Craveiro at the five spot 6-3, 6-3.
JU answered back with a win by their number four player, Marcos Oliveira. Oliveira won his match 7-5, 6-1 over Rafael Altmayer.
Andrew Veeder and Victor Vaz split their first two sets at the two spot with a both gaining a 6-2 win. Vaz rebounded in the third set for another 6-2 win to take the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
With the match on the line, Evgeny Slesarev answered the call. GWU's number one won the third set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4) to take the match 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. JU's Jordi Ballester put up a great fight, but Slesarev prevailed in the end.
Seeing as the match was split 3-3; the match would be decided by the doubles point.
Gardner-Webb won the first match of doubles competition with an 8-4 win by Josh Ray and Van Rensburg over Craveiro and Oliveira.
JU tied things up after Vaz and Lopez downed Ryan Bernthal and Jamie Lawlor 8-6 at the two spot.
The match came down to the one spot again and it could not have been a more exciting ending.
Slesarev and Veeder teamed up for the first time in several weeks and they faced off with JU's Ballester and Riveroll. The match was tied at 7-7 when the tandem from JU broke serve to take an 8-7 lead. The Bulldog duo answered back with a break of their own, which tied the match at 8-8 and forced a tiebreaker.
Slesarev and Veeder put up a good fight in the tiebreaker, but the team from JU played a little better and won the tiebreaker 7-4 to take the match 9-8.
After the match Coach Griffith said, "This was a great college tennis match between two very good teams. Each team played with heart and passion, and JU earned this win. I have to congratulate Coach Wood and their team for a well played match and a good win."
The Bulldogs will head to Asheville for their next match against UNC-A on Tuesday. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.
Gardner-Webb – 3 Jacksonville – 4
Singles
- Evgeny Slesarev (GWU) def. Jordi Ballester (JU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6
- Victor Vaz (JU) def. Andrew Veeder (GWU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
- Fransisco Riveroll (JU) def. Carlos Quijano (GWU) 6-0, 6-1
- Marcos Oliveira (JU) def. Rafael Altmayer (GWU) 7-5, 6-1
- Grant Van Rensburg (GWU) def. Vinny Craveiro (JU) 6-3, 6-3
- Taylor Ferrier (GWU) def. Alberto Lopez (JU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
- Ballester/Riveroll (JU) def. Slesarev/Veeder (GWU) 9-8 (7-4)
- Vaz/Lopez (JU) def. Bernthal/Lawlor (GWU) 8-6
- Ray/Van Rensburg (GWU) def. Craveiro/Oliveira (JU) 8-4
| Team Stats |
| Individual Stats |
