Gardner-Webb Falls at Furman, 6-1, on Friday
February 15, 2014 | Men's Tennis
Greenville, S.C. - Gardner-Webb got another singles win from sophomore Nikita Zverkov, but Furman used a 1-0 lead after doubles to kickstart a 6-1 win over the Runnin' Bulldogs at the Mickel Tennis Center in non-conference men's tennis action on Friday.
Zverkov (Moscow, Russia) went 2-0 on the day. At No. 1 doubles, Zverkov and Ernest Alberch teamed up for a 6-3 win against the Paladins' Joel Cook/Alex Christ pairing.
Furman won at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to earn a 1-0 lead entering singles play, winning 6-2 and 6-3, respectively, at the remaining two doubles positions.
Zerkov's match at No. 2 singles was the first to go final when Alex Christ retired during the first set. Zverkov, who was leading 2-1 at the time, has won five straight singles matches.
The other five singles contests would not be decided so easily.
At No. 1 singles, Kaszás (Budapest, Hungary) pushed Furman's Matt Browne, but came up short in a 6-5, 6-4 defeat. Alberch's match at No. 3 singles finished next, as the Torello, Spain native's comeback fell short against Furman's Adam Steryous by a 6-1, 6-5 score.
Brendan Dempsey (Dublin, Ireland) battled back to keep his No. 4 singles match against Jacob Behal tight, but Furman came out on top at that sport with a 6-3, 6-5 win. GWU's Pepe Batalla (Barcelona, Spain) kept pressure
on Ben Horst at No. 5 singles, but fell 6-4, 6-4.
No. 6 singles was the last to conclude, with Joel Cook earning a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jonathan Walker (Elkin, N.C.).
Friday's match was the first of three in four days for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Gardner-Webb is slated to play Radford (1:00 p.m.) on Sunday, at home, prior to traveling for a match at Brevard (N.C.) at 2:00 p.m. on Monday.
