Runnin' Bulldogs Suffer 6-1 Setback at Winthrop on Friday
March 30, 2013 | Men's Tennis
Rock Hill, S.C. - Gardner-Webb men's tennis' road woes continued on Friday, as the host Winthrop Eagles powered past the Runnin' Bulldogs, 6-1, in Big South Conference men's tennis action.
GWU (8-7, 2-4 Big South), which had won seven of eight matches after a March 17 home win over Longwood, has now dropped two straight for the first time since early February.
On Friday against Winthrop (7-10, 3-1 Big South), the Runnin' Bulldogs found themselves down 1-0 after doubles play. A No. 2 doubles win from the combination of Adam Knutsson-Sundblad and Nikita Zverkov, 8-3 over the Eagles' Steven Patrick/Corey Decandia pairing, gave GWU a promising start to the match. Winthrop would take the matches at No.'s 1 and 3 doubles to seal the opening point, however.
Winthrop got quick wins at No.'s 2 and 5 singles, effectively putting GWU at arms reach with a comfortable lead in the team scoring.
At No. 4 singles, GWU sophomore Ernest Alberch (Torello, Spain) continued his recent hot streak with a win over Winthrop's Juan Boada. Alberch used balanced play to cruise to a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 4 spot, his fourth straight singles win.
Gardner-Webb would drop tough matches at No.'s 1, 3, and 6 singles to round out Friday's scoring.
GWU hits the courts for its next match on Thursday, April 4 for a key Big South matchup with UNC Asheville. Thursday's home match for the Runnin' Bulldogs is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.
| Results: Winthrop 6, GWU 1 |
