Presbyterian Edges Gardner-Webb, 5-2, in Big South Men's Tennis Action on Wednesday
March 20, 2014 | Men's Tennis
Clinton, S.C. - Singles wins from Gardner-Webb juniors Ernest Alberch and Brendan Dempsey pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs right back in the mix, but a GWU comeback bid never materialized as Presbyterian held on for a 5-2 win at the Templeton Center on Wednesday.
Presbyterian (19-3, 4-0 Big South) stayed undefeated in League play despite a tough test from a Gardner-Webb team still looking for its first win in Conference play this Spring. The Blue Hose kicked off the match with wins at No.'s 1 and 3 doubles to take the opening point and a 1-0 leading heading into singles play.
GWU (7-10, 0-3 Big South) picked up a hard-earned No. 2 doubles win from the combination of Benjamin Kaszás and Pepe Batalla, who outlasted PC's Ryan Miller/Ben Kelley tandem to win 8-7, but 8-6 and 8-3 Blue Hose triumphs at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles spots, respectively, put the Runnin' Bulldogs down a point early.
The momentum earned by the Blue Hose in doubles play transitioned into wins at four of the six singles positions.
At No. 1 singles, Grayson Mills outlasted Kaszás (Budapest, Hungary), taking a 6-2, 6-3 match. Presbyterian also picked up a straight set singles win at the No. 6 spot, as Diego Manzanas knocked off Batalla by a 6-3, 6-3 margin.
Wins from a pair of Runnin' Bulldog juniors kept the visitors right in the match. At the No. 4 spot, Dempsey (Dublin, Ireland) won in straight sets, defeating Ben Kelley 6-2, 6-2, while Alberch (Torello, Spain) survived a grueling two-set affair against Ryan Miller to come out on top with a 7-6, 7-6 win.
Gardner-Webb won the opening matches at the No. 2 and No. 5 singles spots, but resilient efforts from Presbyterian's Rafael Berghaus and Joel Roberts, respectively, helped the Blue Hose defend its home court.
At No. 2 singles, Nikita Zverkov (Moscow, Russia) stormed out to a one-set lead, but was unable to hold off Berghaus, who earned a 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 victory. At No. 5 singles, Jonathan Walker (Elkin, N.C.) also posted a one-set advantage, but Roberts responded by taking the second set before prevailing in the super tiebreak with the overall outcome already decided. Roberts won 3-6, 7-6, 11-9 at the No. 5 spot.
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Friday, March 21 to host Appalachian State at the Webb Tennis Complex. Friday's match is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.
| Box Score: Presbyterian 5, GWU 2 |
