BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb defeated Wofford by a 5-2 decision on Wednesday afternoon.
Following the conclusion of the match, head coach
Mike Griffith said, "Wofford did not go away and made us work." He was very impressed with the overall team's play saying "We used all eight players today, and we played great overall. It was a great team win"
Gardner-Webb was able to jump out to an early 1-0 lead on the day by winning the doubles point. Coach Griffith said, "I felt like the key today was doubles, we jumped out and that helped."
The doubles competitions were highlighted by a performance from the #3 pair of
Jacob Wall and
Stefano Puga winning 6-0. This was the first match of the day to be completed.
In the #1 doubles,
Breno Plentz and
Ross Gilbert lost 6-4. This made the doubles point come down to the last match in the #2 position.
Gardner-Webb was able to win the decisive, closely contested, #2 doubles match with the duo of
Sebastian Harris and
Alex Griffiths. The match ended with a score of 7-6 (7-4).
Once the singles matches started, the Terriers were able to control the #1 and #6 positions to put them in the lead by a score of 2-1.
The #1s were the first to finish, with Gilbert losing both sets. The set scores were 3-6, 2-6. In the #6 singles,
Connor Enslin lost both sets with the set scores being 1-6, 4-6.
After the conclusion of those two matches, the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to win the remaining four matches of the day to give them the victory.
Shortly following the conclusion of that match, Harris, in the #5 position, was able to win his match by scores of 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. After the conclusion of this match, the score was 2-2.
The last three singles matches had to go to a decisive third set to determine the winner on the day.
From the #3 position,
Victor Putter was able to continue the team's success by winning in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
A dominant performance in the third set by Griffiths in the #4 position clinched the match for the Runnin' Bulldogs. The first set he won 7-6 (7-1), and the second he lost 4-6. The crucial third set's score was 6-1.
The day concluded with the #2 position's extremely well-matched battle with Plentz defeating the Terriers' Omar Williams. Plentz lost the first set 6-7 (4-7) and then fought back to win the next two sets and win his match. The second set Plentz won 7-5, and he won the third set 6-4.
This win now puts Gardner-Webb at 3-6 on the season, winning three of their past four matches.
Next up for the Runnin' Bulldogs is the first Big South Conference match on the season for the team. It is a home match against Hampton with a start time scheduled for noon.
