Box Score
DAVIDSON, N.C. – In front of a near capacity crowd at the Knobloch Tennis Center on the campus of Davidson College, the Gardner-Webb men's tennis team opened its 2024 season with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over a game Davidson squad Saturday afternoon.

The 'Runnin Bulldogs started out the day dropping the doubles point as they fell in the No.1 and No. 3 spots. The Dawgs' Eduardo Dias and Johannes Van Wijk fell to Davidson's No.1 tandem of Maxwell Kachkarov and Juan Camilo Perez Gongora 3-6.

Numa Lemieux-Monette and freshman Jurie Terblanche prevailed in the doubles No.2 spot 7-5 before Alex Lepine and Cathal Butler fell in No.3 Spot in a neck-and-neck tiebreaker 6-7 (8-10).  

In the No. 1 singles spot Dias, who dropped his opening set 1-6 to Davidson's Udday Singh, swung the day's momentum for the Runnin' Bulldogs as he found a way to win the second set 6-4, before taking the match in the third set 6-3.

Lepine (4-6, 1-6) and Chrisjan Van Wyk (4-6, 1-6) fell at the No.2 and No.5 singles spots respectively for the 'Dawgs.

Lemieux-Monette took the No.3 spot in three sets 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 and the 'Runnin Bulldogs would prompt a full comeback taking two-set victories on courts four and six to secure the match point.

Kim Niethammer won spot No.4 in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 as did Terblanche (6-3, 6-3) in spot No. 6 to clinch the match for Gardner-Webb.

"The freshman (Terblanche) clincher at six (spot No.6) was huge," said Gardner-Webb head tennis coach Mike Griffith. "It was a great college atmosphere at Davidson, and they (Davidson) came to play. The momentum was changed when Eduardo Dias found a way to win his second set. I'm looking forward to tomorrow (Sunday) and another road challenge (at Queen's University of Charlotte).

UP Next: The Dawgs' next match at Queens University of Charlotte Sunday (1/28) is schedule to get underway at 1PM. Gardner-Webb is 4-0 all-time vs the Royals.