Sumter, S.C. - In the opening game of the South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament, the 25th ranked Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters secured a berth in the conference semifinals with a 4-1 win over Coker University on Thursday. 

The third-seeded Railsplitters netted their second win of the season over the Cobras, improving to 15-9 with their eighth conference win of the year.  

The Railsplitters began the day by sweeping doubles play, taking the first and third match to get a 1-0 advantage on the Cobras. In the top doubles seed, the third-team all-conference pairing of Victor Bourguignon and Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta showed why they got their honors, rolling to a 6-2 win. The match was all LMU from the jump, as a 2-0 lead was quickly built that became 3-1 in the blink of an eye. While Coker fought back to make it 3-2, the Splitters all-conference pairing steamrolled the rest of the way, giving LMU strong momentum into the third doubles match. 

LMU's third duo of Jakub Hrasek and Radu Florea put on a show to give the Railsplitters a 1-0 lead. The duo took a 3-0 advantage to start the match before coming out of the fifth point with a 4-1 lead. While Coker brought the score closer, the Cobras were unable to mount a successful comeback, as the LMU pairing kept rolling to a 6-3 win in their first match as a duo.  

On the singles court, the Railsplitters took the top singles bout thanks to their First-Team All-SAC Singles honoree Alexandru Rares Giurea, as the senior took a straight sets sweep. The first set started strong for Giurea, who turned a 1-0 deficit into an early 3-1 advantage. Coker would bring the match within one point, as after the first set went 4-2 the Cobras leading man drew it to 4-3. The two top players traded points until Giurea closed the set out, taking a 6-4 victory for a 1-0 set advantage. 

The second set started slow for LMU, as Coker took a 2-0 lead on the Railsplitters before Giurea raced back, netting three unanswered points to hold a 3-2 lead. After the Cobras drew the set even at 3-3, Giurea ran away with the final three points, as the 63rd-ranked singles player in the country finished a 6-3 second set win to give LMU a 2-1 lead. 

After dropping the first set of the fifth singles match, Bourguignon rallied to win the last two sets, putting LMU one win away from advancing. After falling in a close 4-6 opener, Bourguignon went on a 12-1 run to end the day. The second set was all Bourguignon, going 6-0 to tie the match at 1-1. After the third set started 2-1 LMU, Bourguignon finished the day 4-0 to the final set 6-1 and earning his 14th win of the season.  

Hrasek sealed the Splitters trip to the semifinals with a three-set win in the sixth singles match. After Coker took home a 6-4 first set win, Hrasek opened the second set strong, taking four of the first five points, ending the set trading points to solidify a 6-2 win.  

Hrasek would start the win-or-go-home third set with a 3-0 lead, carrying his momentum over from the second set. After the Cobras sixth-man brought the score to 3-2, Hrasek rallied to another three consecutive points, finishing the match with a 6-2 victory and sending the Railsplitters to the semifinals.  

The Railsplitters have earned a trip to the South Atlantic Conference semifinals, which will be played tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. against second-seeded Wingate as the Railsplitters look for revenge from a 4-1 loss in mid-March on the road.  

A link to the semifinal match's live stats link can be found below.  

Live Stats - Semifinals 

RESULTS

Doubles: 

#1: Victor Bourguignon/Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta vs Marcio Silva/Lucas Melone: 6-2 

#2: Alexandru Rares Giurea/Mathis Amsellem vs Marko Pozonec/Edoardo Pilia: 3-5 (UF) 

#3: Jakub Hrasek/Radu Florea vs Andy Huynh/Joao Casas Moreira: 6-3 

Singles: 

#1: Alexandru Rares Giurea vs Marcio Silva: 6-4, 6-3 

#2: Mathis Amsellem vs Edoardo Pilia: 6-2, 4-6 (UF) 

#3: Radu Florea vs Lucas Melone: 3-6, 6-6 (UF) 

#4: Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta vs Marko Pozonec: 1-6, 4-6 

#5: Victor Bourguignon vs Andy Huynh: 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 

#6: Jakub Hrasek vs Sharif Vossen: 4-6, 6-2, 6-2