CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb University men's tennis teams competed at the 10k Clay Court Tournament on September 6-9 in the Queen City of Charlotte, N.C.
 
Highlighting the event were graduate Eduardo Dias and senior Numa Lemieux-Monette, who took home the doubles championship after defeating Thomas Brown and Leonardo Vega, 8-4. During the tournament, Dias and Lemieux-Monette were seeded No. 1 and won a total of four matches enroute to hoisting the championship trophy.
 
Another standout performer for the Runnin' Bulldogs was senior Kim Niethamme. Niethammer was the No. 5 overall seed and went on to win four matches while advancing to the finals before falling short to Charlotte's Arsene Paugault (7-6, 6-2).
 
Niethammer excelled on the doubles side as well after he and sophomore Jurie Terblanche advanced to the semifinals before being defeated by teammates Dias and Lemieux-Monette.
 
Other notable performances:
Johan van Wijk won two rounds in singles, defeating the 15^th seed Jack Di Menna by scores of 7-6, 6-4.
 
Graham Bourne won one round in main draw before falling in round two, but then recovered to win three more matches in the consolation bracket, finishing the weekend with a record of 5-2.
 
Freshman Billy Mac Clement lost in the main draw to the No. 14 seed, but won three matches in consolations to finish the tournament with a 3-2 record.
 
Overall, Gardner-Webb men's tennis finished the 4-day tournament with 25 wins and only 13 defeats in their first event of the season.
 
"Great to get the fall season started with another championship trophy", said head coach Mike Griffith. "Winning never gets old and it is a fantastic way to start."