GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- Pepe Batalla (Barcelona, Spain) battled for a gutsy three-set win over Jonas Winkelmann, but that was the only point for the Railsplitters (6-5, 5-3 SAC) in an 8-1 loss to the 43rd-ranked Tusculum Pioneers (14-1, 7-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's tennis action on Thursday in Greeneville, Tenn. The loss ended Lincoln Memorial's three-match winning streak.

The Pioneers rolled through the Railsplitters in doubles play and won all three tandem matches in decisive fashion. Lukas and Jonas Winkelmann mustered an 8-4 win over Joshua Coulthard (Staindrop, England) and Will Sparks (Knoxville, Tenn.) at the No. 1 flight, while Batalla and Joshua Peress (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) suffered an 8-5 setback to Leon Seiz and Tashique Kader in the second flight. Joseph Elphingstone and David Siegle capped the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win over Guilherme Rocha (Victoria, Brazil) and Carlos Zunino (Samborondon, Ecuador) in the third flight.

Only two of the six singles matches went beyond two sets, with Batalla's 7-6, 4-6, 10-4 win over Jonas Winkelmann in the third flight serving as the lone highlight of the match for the Railsplitters. Peress's match was the only other one to go the distance as his six-match winning streak ended in a heartbreaking 6-2, 1-6, 10-2 loss to Seiz in the fourth flight.

Lukas Winkelmann - the nation's third-ranked singles player - cruised in a 6-4, 6-3 win over Coulthard at the top singles flight, while Planchard topped Sparks 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2. With the end result already decided, Kader defeated Rocha 8-0 and Toby de Klerk bested Zunino 8-1 in a pair of accelerated matches.   

The Railsplitters host the Newberry Wolves for a SAC match on Saturday. Doubles play begins at 1 p.m. at the LMU Tennis Complex.

---

Lincoln Memorial vs Tusculum
Apr 02, 2015 at Greeneville, Tenn.
#43 Tusculum 8, Lincoln Memorial 1

Singles competition:
1. #10 Lukas Winkelmann (TC) def. Joshua Coulthard (LMU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Nicolas Planchard (TC) def. Will Sparks (LMU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Pepe Batalla (LMU) def. Jonas Winkelmann (TC) 7-6, 4-6, 10-4
4. Leon Seiz (TC) def. Joshua Peress (LMU) 6-2, 1-6, 10-2
5. Tashique Kader (TC) def. Guilherme Rocha (LMU) 8-0
6. Toby de Klerk (TC) def. Carlos Zunino (LMU) 8-1

Doubles competition:
1. Lukas Winkelmann/Jonas Winkelmann (TC) def. Joshua Coulthard/Will Sparks (LMU) 8-4
2. Leon Seiz/Tashique Kader (TC) def. Pepe Batalla/Joshua Peress (LMU) 8-5
3. Joseph Elphingstone/David Siegle (TC) def. Guilherme Rocha/Carlos Zunino (LMU) 8-5

Match Notes:
Lincoln Memorial 6-5, 5-3 SAC
Tusculum 14-1, 7-1 SAC; National ranking #43