Harrogate, TN – In their return to Harrogate, the No. 19 Lincoln Memorial Men's Tennis team won their second consecutive South Atlantic Conference match of the season, defeating Coker University 4-0 at home.
The win for the Railsplitters improves the men to 7-1 and 2-0 to start conference play, marking the second time this year the Splitters have won without dropping a set.
LMU would start the day by taking the doubles point over the Cobras, as the Splitters took both finished matches to start. In the first pairing, the duo of Victor Bourguignon and Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta dominated the top pairing from Coker, starting out 2-0 and holding onto a lead throughout their match, as after Coker brought the score to 3-2, the Railsplitters pair ran away with a 6-2 win.
The Doubles point was locked up with a 6-3 win in the second pairing, as Radu Florea and Ethan Hirons continued their hot start to the season with another win. After both pairs traded points to start, the Railsplitters pairing of Florea and Hirons scored the final three points unanswered to take the win and the first match points of the day.
Bourguignon would pick up a win from the fifth singles position to start the individual competition, dominating his opponent from Coker, taking the first set in a rout after jumping out to a 5-1 lead on the Cobras fifth-singles player before earning a 6-2 win in the first set, and eventually running away with a 6-1 second-set win for the sweep.
In the second singles match, Alexandru Rares Giurea battled back from a first set defeat to take the match from the Cobras, as after a tough 5-7 loss in the first set, Giurea would combine to allow just four points over the next two sets, dominating to a 6-1 win in the second and a 6-3 come from behind win that locked up the Railsplitters second of the day in singles play.
Hirons would lock up the Railsplitters win from the top singles position, battling to a three-set win over the Cobras top singles player. Hirons would jump out to a 4-2 lead in the first set, which allowed him to hold on and finish off a 6-3 set one win. After dropping the middle set, Hirons scored five unanswered points to give the Railsplitters the win with a 6-2 set victory.
Lincoln Memorial will stay at home for a top-25 matchup against conference opponent Tusculum on Tuesday, as the Railsplitters welcome the 23rd-ranked Pioneers for an 11:00 a.m. match.
RESULTS
Doubles:
#1: Victor Bourguignon/Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta vs Marcio Silva/Andy Huynh: 6-2
#2: Radu Florea/Ethan Hirons vs Lukas Melone/Gijs Van Asdonck: 6-3
#3: Alexandru Rares Giurea/Mathis Amsellem vs Edoardo Pilla/Marko Pozonec: UF
Singles:
#1: Ethan Hirons vs Marcio Silva: 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
#2: Alexandru Rares Giurea vs Lucas Melone: 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
#3: Mathias Roy vs Marko Pozonec: 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), UF
#4: Radu Florea vs Edoardo Pilia: 7-6 (7-1), UF
#5: Victor Bourguignon vs Joao Casas Moreira: 6-2, 6-1
#6: Kai Miyatake vs Andy Huynh: 3-6, UF
