HARROGATE, Tenn. – After a month's hiatus away from the court due to a steady slew of unplayable weather conditions, the Railsplitters (1-3, 0-1 SAC) dropped their South Atlantic Conference opener Sunday by a final of 9-0 to the Wingate Bulldogs (4-3, 3-0 SAC) at the LMU Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs rolled over the Railsplitters in doubles action, taking a commanding 3-0 lead into singles play. Lincoln Memorial's top doubles tandem of
Joshua Coulthard (Staindrop, England) and
Will Sparks (Knoxville, Tenn.) fell by a final of 8-1 to Wingate's top pair of Neal Towlson and Sebastian Hall. Amir Zari and Connor Kudrick defeated
Pepe Batalla (Barcelona, Spain) and
Joshua Peress (Montreal, Quebec) 8-2 in the second flight, while
Stefan Hall (Stratford, PEI) and
Carlos Zunino (Samborondon, Ecuador) dropped an 8-3 decision in the final flight.
Wingate cruised in singles action as well, winning all six matches in straight sets. Peress recorded the Railsplitters' best chance of the afternoon as the Montreal, Quebec native put up scores of 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth flight.
Will Sparks managed limited success in the No. 2 role against Zari, winning five games in a 6-3, 6-2 loss.
The Railsplitters return to the LMU Tennis Complex on Tuesday, March 10 as they play host to the University of the Cumberlands Patriots with doubles action slated to get underway at 3 p.m.
Mar 08, 2015 at Harrogate, TN (LMU Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. Neal Towlson (WU) def. Joshua Coulthard (LMU) 6-0, 6-2 |
| 2. Amir Zari (WU) def. Will Sparks (LMU) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 3. Sebastian Hall (WU) def. Pepe Batalla (LMU) 6-2, 6-1 |
| 4. Connor Kudrick (WU) def. Joshua Peress (LMU) 6-1, 6-4 |
| 5. Filippo Pezzoli (WU) def. Stefan Hall (LMU) 5-0, retired |
| 6. Josh DuToit (WU) def. Carlos Zunino (LMU) 8-3 |
Doubles competition
Match Notes
Wingate 4-3, 3-0 SAC |
| Lincoln Memorial 1-3, 0-1 SAC |
