HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The Railsplitters (3-3, 2-1 SAC) pulled out their second South Atlantic Conference victory in as many days on Monday, grinding for a 5-4 win over the Coker Cobras (2-9, 0-2 SAC) in Hartsville, S.C. The win comes less than 24 hours after Lincoln Memorial grabbed a 5-4 road win over Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Doubles play ultimately made the difference as the Railsplitters swept all three tandem flights and held on with some clutch singles wins.
 
Joshua Coulthard (Staindrop, England) and Will Sparks (Knoxville, Tenn.) pulled off an 8-4 win over William Marrafao and Simon Bergbom at the top flight, while Pepe Batalla (Barcelona, Spain) and Joshua Peress (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) earned the one break they needed in an 8-6 win over Mark Watt and Felix Schweyer at No. 2 action. Batalla and Peress improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in SAC play as a duo with the victory.
 
Stefan Hall (Stratford, PEI) and Carlos Zunino (Samborondon, Ecuador) completed the sweep and snapped a five-match losing skid with an 8-4 win in the third flight over Zach Grooms and Dominic Allan.
 
The Railsplitters did just enough in singles play to make that early lead hold up. Coulthard dropped a nail biter to Marrafao at No. 1 singles 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), while Sparks fell in straight sets to Bergbom at No. 2. Batalla took Watt to a tiebreaker in the opening set, but suffered a 6-3 loss in the second stanza to give the Cobras the point in each of the top three singles flights.
 
Peress and Zunino finished off the victory, though, as Peress rolled through Grooms 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4, and Zunino beat Allan 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6.
 
Hall dropped the opening set of his match against Schweyer at No. 5, but he was ahead 4-3 in set two when he was forced to retire.
 
The Railsplitters return to the LMU Tennis Complex on Friday for a SAC showdown with the Anderson Trojans, with doubles action slated to get underway at 11 a.m.

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Lincoln Memorial 5, Coker 4
Mar 16, 2015 at Hartsville, SC (Coker Tennis Courts)
 

Singles competition

1. William Marrafao (CCMT) def. Joshua Coulthard (LMU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

2. Simon Bergbom (CCMT) def. Will Sparks (LMU) 6-4, 6-2

3. Mark Watt (CCMT) def. Pepe Batalla (LMU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3

4. Joshua Peress (LMU) def. Zach Grooms (CCMT) 6-0, 6-0

5. Felix Schweyer (CCMT) def. Stefan Hall (LMU) 6-4, 3-4, retired

6. Carlos Zunino (LMU) def. Dominic Allan (CCMT) 6-4, 6-0

 

Doubles competition

1. Joshua Coulthard/Will Sparks (LMU) def. William Marrafao/Simon Bergbom (CCMT) 8-4

2. Pepe Batalla/Joshua Peress (LMU) def. Mark Watt/Felix Schweyer (CCMT) 8-6

3. Stefan Hall/Carlos Zunino (LMU) def. Zach Grooms/Dominic Allan (CCMT) 8-4

 

Match Notes

Lincoln Memorial 3-3, 2-1 SAC

Coker 2-9, 0-2 SAC

T-5:00 A-75