BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb battled for an important win against Presbyterian in their second Big South match of the year. The win puts the 'Dogs at 2-0 on the season, their third consecutive 2-0 start in conference play.
 
"We have a lot of respect for Presbyterian and to win today is special," said Head Coach Mike Griffith. "We will enjoy this and tomorrow we will begin our preparation for the next challenge."
 
Presbyterian was able to come away with the early point from doubles. GWU won the #2 match with Sebastian Harris and Connor Enslin 6-2. However, PC came behind with a win on court #3 and the clinch from the top position in a tiebreaker.
 
In singles, Gardner-Webb lost the first set in four of the six matches. This led to the Blue Hose getting a straight-set win from position 6 to push the overall match score to 2-0, Presbyterian.
 
After this ended, GWU came alive and won the remaining five matches in singles. This stretch started with Eduardo Dias' win in the topflight over Max Benson, the reigning Big South Player of the Year. The final for this was 6-4, 6-3, which was the first time Benson has lost to an unranked opponent in straight sets this season.
 
Following this, Chrisjan Van Wyk completed the first of four three-set victories with his win on 3 to tie the match at 2-2. After losing in the first set, Victor Putter bounced back to win the last two sets to give Gardner-Webb the lead, one point away from clinching the match. Alex Lepine overcame a first set loss to clinch the win for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
 
The day ended with Harris' emotional, hard-fought win on court 4. The final score was 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
 
Gardner-Webb's next match is on Tuesday, March 8 at Longwood with a first serve at 1:00 p.m. With a win, the Runnin' Bulldogs will start conference play 3-0 in back-to-back seasons.