GWU's Winning Bid Falls Short, South Carolina St. Takes 5-2 Win on Sunday
April 01, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Boiling Springs, N.C. - Gardner-Webb men's tennis was unable to make it two in a row, falling to MEAC frontrunner South Carolina St. by a 5-2 margin at home Sunday afternoon.
GWU (6-12, 0-4), winners in last year's meeting between the two teams, fell behind 1-0 early, dropping the doubles matches at No.'s 2 and 3. Matthew Parker and Ernest Alberch picked up a win at No. 1 doubles, knocking off the Bulldogs' duo Artemiy Nikitin/Peteris Vinogradous 8-3.
Parker (Marietta, Ga.) and Alberch (Torello, Spain) pushed Nikitin/Vinogradous to 11-5 on the season with the loss. The two have teamed up to go 8-6 as doubles partners in 2012.
Gardner-Webb came out swinging in singles action, as freshmen Joao Poli (Londrina, Brazil), Brendan Dempsey (Dublin, Ireland), as well as Alberch each won their first sets to keep the Runnin' Bulldogs in contention.
Also winning his first set was junior Adam Knutsson-Sundblad (Gothenburg, Sweden), whose 6-3, 6-1 win over South Carolina State's Tomas Bizon got GWU on the board.
Dempsey hung on for the win at No. 6, besting Jangeum Lee 7-5, 6-2 for a 2-2 tie with South Carolina St. halfway through the match.
Alberch's bid at the No. 4 position was cut short, as the freshman fell to Vinogradous 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. Poli pushed an undefeated singles opponent, Nikitin, to the brink, but dropped a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 decision at No. 5.
Gardner-Webb opens a season-ending road trip with a match on Tuesday at UNC Asheville. The match is set for a 2:30 p.m. start time.
| Match Results - SCST 5, GWU 2 |
