Harrogate, TN – In a tight contest, the Lincoln Memorial Men's Tennis team finished their opening home-stand a perfect 5-0, defeating Belmont Abbey 4-2 in Harrogate on Saturday night.
LMU would pick up one win in doubles play, as the third pairing of Ethan Hirons and Radu Florea continued their undefeated start to the season, winning a dominant 6-2 set over their opponents.
Out of singles play, LMU would see early success from the first draw, as Alexandru Rares Giurea would face an early fight from his opponent, as a quick 4-1 lead would turn into a 4-4 tie. Rares Giurea found his next gear to finish the 6-4 first set victory before taking a 6-1 win in the second set for the match victory.
Hirons kept his undefeated record in the third singles match, taking the first set 6-3 after racing out to a fast 3-1, and eventually sealing the victory with a 6-1 win in the second set. Hiron's doubles partner would also see singles play success, as Florea translated a 4-0 lead in the opening set into a 6-4 win, before finishing the sweep of the fourth singles draw with a 6-1 win
The Splitters would secure the win and undefeated start thanks to Kai Miyatake in the final singles position. Miyatake would earn a 6-1 victory in the first set, before his opponent forced a third set with a 6-2 win. The final set would prove a battle, as Miyatake would have to fight back from down 5-2 to claim the set. After evening the score at 5, Miyatake would again fall behind, this time 6-5 before setting the match even at 6-6. A long volley would ensue, as both sides attempted to pull away with the final points, but Miyatake would scrape out the final win 7-6, taking the 8-6 tiebreaker.
LMU will take to the road to face Converse on Tuesday, with the Splitters facing the Valkyries at 3:00 p.m.
RESULTS
Doubles:
#1: Victor Bourguignon/Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta vs Charlie Fremaux/Isaac Burkle: 3-6
#2: Hugo Ruiz Espejo/Alexandru Rares Giurea vs Jackson Korta/Cam Simpson: 2-6
#3: Ethan Hirons/Radu Florea vs Tim Stemler/Andrey Ampong: 6-2
Singles:
#1: Alexandru Rares Giurea vs Ricard Novell: 6-4, 6-1
#2: Mathias Roy vs Cam Simpson: 3-6, 2-6
#3: Ethan Hirons vs Isaac Buerkle: 6-3, 6-1
#4: Radu Florea vs Charlie Fremaux: 6-4, 6-1
#5: Victor Bourguignon vs Marcus Bergelin: 7-5, 2-6, UF
#6: Kai Miyatake vs Peru Bayo: 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6)
