ROCK HILL, SC – The Gardner-Webb men's tennis snapped a one-match skid with a 7-0 shutout of the Winthrop Eagles to end the month of March.
"It was a huge win for us today," said head coach Mike Griffith. "We had so much respect for Winthrop. For us to get back in the win column was incredibly important. We've reached the halfway mark of Big South play and now play three of next four matches either at home or just 30 minutes from campus. We're going to work hard and prepare for a tough USC Upstate team on Thursday."
Gardner-Webb (8-6, 4-1 Big South) started hot in doubles play with #74 Maximilian Scholl and Millen Hurrion getting a 6-3 victory in the No. 1 flight. Breno Plentz and Sebastian Harris clinched the point for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a 6-4 win over Connor Williamson and Lluis Morales in the No. 3 position.
Winthrop (7-11, 2-5 Big South) was blanked by the 'Dogs in singles play. The 107th-ranked Hurrion improved to 12-1 on the year with a 6-2, 6-2 win in the No. 2 position and Johan Fors gave Gardner-Webb a 3-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the No. 5 flight over Alberto Tinagli.
Scholl clinched the match at No. 1 with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over Diego Quiroz and Ross Gilbert, Breno Plentz and Stefano Puga all followed with victories to complete the shutout.
Gilbert (No. 4 singles) fell in set one, 4-6, but rebounded with wins of 6-3 and 6-4 in the second and third sets. Plentz (No. 3) and Puga (No. 6) also needed three sets to win. Plentz won set one, 6-3, before dropping the second set to Gabriel Dias but earning a win in set three, 6-3, to take the match.
Puga's match at No. 6 was the final one to finish and solidified the shutout for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Puga took the opening set and after falling in set two, narrowly won a super tiebreaker, 10-8.
Gardner-Webb will begin a busy April with two road matches. First, the 'Dogs will travel to USC Upstate for a Big South battle on Thursday, April 4 at 3:00 p.m. before heading to Elon for a non-conference contest on Saturday, April 6 at 2:30 p.m.
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