Runnin' Bulldogs Drop 5-2 Decision to Presbyterian on the Road Wednesday
March 29, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Clinton, S.C. - Gardner-Webb men's tennis lost its third straight match Wednesday, falling to Big South foe Presbyterian by a 5-2 margin on the road.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (5-11, 0-4) got a great effort from junior Roman Piftor (Tashkent, Uzbekistan), who won in his first singles match at the No. 3 position this season. Piftor, after dropping a hard-fought first set, rallied to win the next two and secure a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win over Presbyterian's Zachary Sprouse.
After the Blue Hose (9-10, 1-2) took the opening doubles point, Gardner-Webb fought back, forcing 4 of the 6 singles matches to go to three sets. At No. 6, freshman Brendan Dempsey (Dublin, Ireland) outlasted Presbyterian's Gonzalo Asis by a score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to provide GWU's other singles win Wednesday.
Host Presbyterian took straight set wins at No.'s 1 and 5 singles, forcing Gardner-Webb to win the remaining matches. After dropping the first sets in both their matches, GWU's Adam Knutsson-Sundblad (Gothenburg, Sweden) and Ernest Alberch (Torello, Spain) kept Runnin' Bulldog hopes alive by forcing three sets at the No. 2 and No. 4 singles positions respectively.
Knutsson-Sundblad lost a hard-fought 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 decision to Presbyterian's Rafael Berghaus, and Alberch fell in a close contest to William O'Connell by a score of 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
Gardner-Webb men's tennis will be back in action for home matches Saturday, March 31 against Abraham Baldwin and Sunday, April 1 against South Carolina St.
Saturday's match will be done in conjunction with the "GWU Kids Tennis Day" community event open from 11:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. to the public free of charge.
Match Results: Presbyterian 5 - GWU 2
Doubles Competition
1. Rafael Berghaus/William O'Connell (PC) def. Korhan Ates/Adam Knutsson-Sundblad 8-3
2. Zachary Sprouse/Andrew Brigham (PC) def. Matt Parker/Ernest Alberch 8-6
3. Edward Snead/Nathan Crocker (PC) def. Stephen Martin/Roman Piftor 9-8
Singles Competition
1. Grayson Mills (PC) def. Korhan Ates 6-4, 6-4
2. Rafael Berghaus (PC) def. Adam Knutsson-Sundblad (GWU) 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
3. Roman Piftor (GWU) def. Zachary Sprouse (PC) 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
4. William O'Connell (PC) def. Ernest Alberch (GWU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
5. Andrew Brigham (PC) def. Joao Poli (GWU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Brendan Dempsey (GWU) def. Gonzalo Asis (PC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
