WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – Gardner-Webb men's tennis rounded out their fall campaign this weekend at the Wake Forest Invite as they gathered several bronze medals to conclude a busy fall season.
Returning from injury,
Breno Plentz was the highlight of the event for the Runnin' Bulldogs as he took third place in the B2 Singles flight with a win over East Carolina's Javi Renones 6-4, 6-3. In his third place finish run, Plentz also defeated Eddie Gutierrez of Liberty and Paul Mendoza of James Madison.
The dangerous duo of
Adam Schmidt and
Ross Gilbert also took third place in the B3 Doubles draw. The pair started off the tournament with an exciting 7-6 win over Liberty's Burton/Poynter before going on to defeat Monterosso/Labik of Campbell University, 6-4 in a battle for the bronze.
Coach Griffith commented on the event saying, "It was great to see Breno have such a fantastic tournament. He came in injured and never reached his expected level of play until this weekend. He is driven to be the best and with him healthy, his energy is very contagious to our team and we feed off of his passion." As the team wrapped up their fall play, Griffith commented, "Now we all get ready for a crazy Big South schedule and our first match against a top team in NC State on Jan. 13
th."
TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
Breno Plentz def. Mendoza (JMU) 7-6 (5), 6-2, Gutierrez (Liberty) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, and Renones (ECU) 6-4, 6-3.
Gadjiev/Botzer (Wake Forest) def. Plentz/Perry 6-3. Kodali/Harrison (UNC) def. Plentz/Perry 7-6.
Michael Perry def. Sala (Radford) 6-1, 6-0. Montersso (Campbell) def. Perry 7-6, 6-3. Perry def. Daly (UNCA) 6-3, 6-1.
Adam Schmidt collected a bye in the first round, def. Chousa (Wofford) 7-5, 6-0. Fenne (UNCC) def. Schmidt 6-4, 6-4. Harrison (UNC) def. Schmidt 6-4, 6-2.
Schmidt/Gilbert def. Burton/Poynter (Liberty) 7-6. Williams/Chousa (Wofford) def. Schmidt/Gilbert 6-3. Schmidt/Gilbert def. Monterosso/Labik (Campbell) 6-4.
Ross Gilbert collected a bye in the first round. Thompson (UNCC) def, Gilbert 4-6, 7-6, 6-0. Piekarsky (Indiana) def. Gilbert 6-2, 6-3. Calais (Radford) def. Gilbert 6-2, 6-3.
