Bulldogs Defeat Liberty 4-3, Move to 2-2 in Big South
March 23, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Two doubles and three singles wins propelled the Gardner-Webb
men's tennis team past the Liberty Flames Sunday afternoon by a
score of 4-3. Sophomore Jamie Lawlor clinched the match for the
‘Dogs with a 6-4, 6-2 win at the fifth position to break the
3-3 tie.
The Bulldogs came out hot against Liberty in doubles competition.
Head Coach Mike Griffith made a few pairing changes for this
conference matchup, having Andrew Veeder and Carlos Quijano go at
two and Ryan Bernthal and Jamie Lawlor go at three.
This strategy proved to be the right move against the Flames as
Quijano and Veeder were able to win handily at two, defeating the
Flames 8-4. However, Bernthal and Lawlor fell 8-3 at three.
The deciding doubles point came down to the first position which
shown GWU's duo of Evgeny Slesarev and Rafael Altmayer facing off
with Liberty's Clay Cypert and Louis Steyn. Both pairings played
well in the match with games shuffling back and forth between
them. The two teams played so well that the match had to be
settled in tiebreaker fashion.
In the tiebreaker, Slesarev and Altmayer won several straight
points to go up 6-5 with the deciding point resting on Liberty's
shoulders. The weight must have been too much for the Flames as
GWU's duo was able to break and win 9-8 (7-5).
The Bulldogs kept up the momentum in singles play with two of the
first three singles matches went to the ‘Dogs, giving them a
3-1 lead. Slesarev was the first Bulldog to win on Sunday. 6-3,
6-2, followed by a 6-4, 6-2 win by Veeder at two; which gave the
Bulldogs a two-point edge.
However, Liberty answered right back with wins at three and six to
tie the match at 3-3 with one match remaining, the five slot.
With the deciding match resting on his shoulders, Lawlor came
through in the clutch, breaking serve in the second set and
notching a 6-4, 6-2 win to give the Bulldogs the 4-3 victory.
Despite the grueling match against Liberty, the ‘Dogs weren't
through with their day as they also hosted Queens University later
that evening.
The men's team had an easier go at it in the latter match, sweeping
both the doubles and singles portions in route to a 7-0 victory
over Queens. Marking the win, all six ‘Dogs won in straight
sets in singles action.
The Bulldogs will take nearly two weeks off before their next
match, hosting UNC Greensboro on Thursday, April 2 at 3 PM.
BOX
Gardner-Webb 4, Liberty 3
Singles competition
1. SLESAREV, Evgeny (GWU) def. CYPERT, Clay (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-2
2. VEEDER, Andrew (GWU) def. STEYN, Louis (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-2
3. SIMPSON, Chad (LIBERTYM) def. ALTMAYER, Rafael (GWU) 6-2,
6-1
4. LEMMI, Giancarlo (LIBERTYM) def. QUIJANO, Carlos (GWU) 6-1,
6-2
5. LAWLOR, Jamie (GWU) def. MACHADO, Gregorio (LIBERTYM) 6-4,
6-2
6. REYES, Juan (LIBERTYM) def. BERNTHAL, Ryan (GWU) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. SLESAREV, Evgeny/ALTMAYER, Rafael (GWU) def. CYPERT, Clay/LEMMI,
Giancarlo (LIBERTYM) 9-8 (7-5)
2. QUIJANO, Carlos/VEEDER, Andrew (GWU) def. SIMPSON, Chad/MACHADO,
Gregorio (LIBERTYM) 8-4
3. STEYN, Louis/REYES, Juan (LIBERTYM) def. BERNTHAL, Ryan/LAWLOR,
Jamie (GWU) 8-3
Gardner-Webb 7, Queens 0
Singles competition
1. SLESAREV, Evgeny (GWU) def. LEE-DAIGLE (QU) 6-4, 6-0
2. VEEDER, Andrew (GWU) def. O'ROURKE (QU) 6-2, 6-4
3. ALTMAYER, Rafael (GWU) def. RAMIREZ (QU) 6-1, 6-1
4. QUIJANO, Carlos (GWU) def. KENNEDY (QU) 6-1, 6-0
5. LAWLOR, Jamie (GWU) def. McKENZIE (QU) 6-3, 7-5
6. BERNTHAL, Ryan (GWU) def. CALDERON (QU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. SLESAREV, Evgeny/ALTMAYER, Rafael (GWU) def. LEE-DAIGLE/O'ROURKE
(QU) 9-8 (7-3)
2. BERNTHAL, Ryan/LAWLOR, Jamie (GWU) def. RAMIREZ/McKENZIE (QU)
8-4
3. VEEDER, Andrew/QUIJANO, Carlos (GWU) def. ABRAMOWITZ/CALDERON
(QU) 8-6
