Harrogate, TN – Despite the gloomy weather outside, the conditions inside the LMU tennis facility were perfect for the Lincoln Memorial Men's Tennis team, as the 19th-ranked Railsplitters defeated the No. 23 Tusculum 4-0 in a conference match. 

The win moves the Railsplitters to 8-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in the South Atlantic Conference, as LMU claimed their second-consecutive 4-0 win.  

The Splitters top doubles pairing would take the first match of the day, as Victor Bourguignon and Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta won their fifth match of the season together over Tusculum's top duo. Bourguignon and Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta went back and forth with Tusculum early, but after holding at a 3-3 draw, the Railsplitters pair ran with three consecutive point to take the 6-3 win.  

LMU locked up the doubles point in the second pairing, with Ethan Hirons and Radu Florea taking a 7-6 win in tiebreakers to give the Railsplitters their second win in the doubles bracket. The two pairings started the match by trading points early, as after Tusculum jumped out to a 4-2 lead, Hirons and Florea responded with consecutive points of their own to even the match at 4-4.  

Tusculum would get close to securing the doubles point, taking the net point and holding onto a match-point up 40-15 with the 6-5 advantage. But Hirons and Florea rallied back, scoring three unanswered point to draw the match at six all, and after falling behind early in the tiebreaker round, LMU's pairing would pull away with a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker, taking the set 7-6 and locking up the Splitters second doubles win of the day.  

The Railsplitters took this momentum into singles play, with the Splitters taking the 2-0 lead thanks to Alexandru Rares Giurea, who picked up a win out of the second singles position. Giurea jumped out to an early lead in the first set, turning a 4-1 advantage into a 5-2 lead just moments later, taking the first set 6-2. After an early lead from his opponent, the second set ended all LMU, as Giurea scored five of the final six points to take the set 6-3 and the match 2-0.  

Kai Miyatake would make it 3-0 LMU, as his seventh singles win of the season was a rout from the sixth position, taking the first set 6-2 thanks to an early scoring run against his opponent. The second set went his way from start to stop, sweeping his opponent to a clean 6-0 win and a straight sets victory. 

Bourguignon secured the 4-0 win in the fifth singles position, taking the straight sets win while allowing a total of just five points. Bourguignon jumped out to an early set one win thanks to four consecutive points, taking the 6-2 win. The second set started similarly, with Bourguignon trading points with his opponent before turning a 3-3 lead into a 6-3 win and a 2-0 set victory, giving LMU their fourth point of the contest and securing the Railsplitters their eighth win of the season. 

Lincoln Memorial will face their third ranked opponent of the season on Saturday, as the Railsplitters travel to face 10th-ranked Wingate in a South Atlantic Conference matchup at 11:00 a.m. 

RESULTS 

Doubles: 

#1: Victor Bourguignon/Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta vs Angus Howard/Reese McCann: 6-3 

#2: Ethan Hirons/Radu Florea vs Kai Poelchau/Rens Verhaar: 7-6 (7-5) 

#3: Alexandru Rares Giurea/Mathis Amsellem vs David Negzaoui/Will Gee: 3-6 

Singles: 

#1: Ethan Hirons vs Rens Verhaar: 3-6, UF 

#2: Alexandru Rares Giurea vs Romain Payan: 6-2, 6-3 

#3: Radu Florea vs David Negzaoui: 6-7 (4-7) 

#4: Mathias Roy vs Will Gee: 7-5, UF 

#5: Victor Bourguignon vs Angus Howard: 6-2, 6-3 

#6: Kai Miyatake vs Reese McCann: 6-2, 6-0