RADFORD, Va. – The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs were unable to win their eighth straight match as they fell to the Radford Highlanders, 5-2, in Big South Conference play on Friday afternoon.
Gardner-Webb (7-6, 2-1 Big South) lost at No. 3 doubles to start the match, but a 6-3 win in the No. 1 flight by #74 Maximilian Scholl and Millen Hurrion gave each squad a doubles victory. The point came down to the result in the No. 2 position where GWU's Breno Plentz and Stefano Puga battled Radford's Alexandros Caldwell and Michiel Meekers.
Radford (13-3, 4-1 Big South) won the doubles point with a 6-4 victory in the No. 2 position, but Gardner-Webb quickly tied the match at one as Scholl cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win in the No. 1 singles flight. Scholl is an impressive 12-1 on the year and a perfect 3-0 in Big South play.
Despite Scholl tying the match, Gardner-Webb could not swing the momentum in its favor, as Radford won the next four singles contests.
The Highlanders' Adres Silva defeated Sebastian Harris at No. 6 to give the home team a 2-1 lead, and Matko Varga's victory at No. 5 put the 'Dogs two matches behind with RU needing just one victory to clinch.
Radford clinched the match with a victory in the No. 3 flight and extended its advantage to 5-1 with a win at No. 4.
Hurrion made it a 5-2 final score with his win at in the No. 2 position over Radford's Rodrigo Magalhaes. Hurrion, the country's 107th-ranked player, dropped the first set, 4-6, but won set two. In a super tiebreaker, he quickly defeated Magalhaes, 10-4 for his 11th victory in 12 matches. The sophomore from Weymouth, England has won nine straight matches and is 3-0 against Big South foes.
"We started slow and Radford was the better team today," said head coach Mike Griffith. "We have an opportunity to learn from this match and use our practice time tomorrow to get better and prepare to face a tough Winthrop team."
The 'Dogs will have very little time to rest as they return to action at Winthrop on Sunday, March 31. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
