JEFFERSON CITY, TN – The LMU men's tennis team improved to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in South Atlantic Conference play as they picked up a key 5-4 SAC win at Carson-Newman Tuesday afternoon.

The 12-2 start is the best start since the 2010 season. That season LMU went 19-2, losing only to ninth-ranked Lees-McRae in the regular season and to fifth-ranked Lander in the NCAA Southeast Regional.

LMU took two of the three doubles flights, winning at No. 1 and 3 to take a 2-1 lead. At No. 1 Joshua Coulthard (Staindrop, England) and Jake Tuchmann (Kennesaw, Ga.) won over Stefano Daza and Rodolfo Schwarz 8-2 while at No. 3, Pepe Batalla (Barcelona, Spain) and David Segarra (Sabadell, Spain) moved to 11-3 on the season as they defeated Jesus Bacete-Sanz and Kevin Mendes 8-6.

In singles, LMU picked up wins at No. 2, 3 and 5 to claim the 5-4 win. No. 4 was also a closely-fought match as it went to three sets. At No. 2, Xavier Marti (Tortosa, Spain) improved to 10-1 overall and 6-0 in SAC play with the 6-4, 6-2 win over Rodolfo Schwarz. Joshua Peress (Montreal, Quebec) picked up his fifth SAC win of the season with the 7-5, 6-2 win over Marc Bantel at No. 3. Segarra remained undefeated on the season (13-0, 5-0 SAC) with the 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 and at No. 4 Batalla was defeated for the first time this season in three sets 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

LMU will next play at Lenoir-Rhyne Friday at 2 p.m.
 
Tennis Match Results
Lincoln Memorial vs Carson-Newman
Mar 28, 2017 at Jefferson City, TN
Lincoln Memorial 5, Carson-Newman 4
 Singles competition
1. Joao Pedro Oliveira (CN) def. Joshua Coulthard (LMU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Xavier Marti (LMU) def. Rodolfo Schwarz (CN) 6-4, 6-2
3. Joshua Peress (LMU) def. Marc Bantel (CN) 7-5, 6-2
4. Stefano Daza (CN) def. Pepe Batalla (LMU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
5. David Segarra (LMU) def. Gabriel Dabdab (CN) 6-2, 6-3
6. Kevin Mendes (CN) def. Moritz Hoerner (LMU) 6-4, 6-3
 
 Doubles competition
1. Joshua Coulthard/Jake Tuchmann (LMU) def. Stefano Daza/Rodolfo Schwarz (CN) 8-2
2. Joao Pedro Oliveira/Gabriel Dabdab (CN) def. Xavier Marti/Joshua Peress (LMU) 8-3
3. Pepe Batalla/David Segarra (LMU) def. Jesus Bacete-Sanz/Kevin Mendes (CN) 8-6
 
Match Notes:
Lincoln Memorial 12-2, 4-1 SAC
Carson-Newman 4-8, 3-5 SAC
T-5:00 pm