Jefferson City, TN – The 24th ranked Lincoln Memorial men's tennis team picked up another conference win on Thursday, this time getting it done in their rivals house, defeating Carson-Newman four sets to one, as LMU moves its record to 14-8 and 8-2 in the conference going into their Saturday finale.
The Railsplitters started the day strong, taking the doubles point from Carson-Newman in emphatic fashion. Starting in the second set, the pairing of Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta and Hugo Ruiz Espejo set the tone for LMU with a 6-2 win over the Eagles pairing. After starting 1-1, Aranzeta Boneta and Ruiz Espejo raced away with the rest of the match to secure a 6-2 victory, their first win as a pairing this season.
LMU secured the doubles point with another 6-2 victory, as the pairing of Victor Bourguignon and Radu Florea won their first match together of the 2025-26 season. The third doubles pairing was all LMU from the jump, as Florea and Bourguignon took a 2-0 lead before the Eagles earned a single point and never let the Eagles get closer, taking a 5-1 lead before locking down the 6-2 victory and a 1-0 Splitters lead.
Alexandru Rares Giurea put the Railsplitters up 2-1 with their first singles win of the day, taking a straight sets sweep in the first singles match. The first set started back and forth, as Giurea and his opponent traded off the first two points. But Giurea reared back, as the 62nd-ranked individual performer scored four unanswered points to bury his opponent, taking the opening set 6-2 before cementing his win with a 6-1 second set.
The Splitters third point of the match came from the final singles position, as Jakub Hrasek put LMU up 3-1 thanks to his fourth win of the season. After jumping out to a 4-0 set one lead, Hrasek would be put on his back heals, as his opponent trimmed the lead to 4-2 and eventually 5-3. But Hrasek was able to put Carson-Newman away, taking a 1-0 advantage before an easier second set locked down a 6-1 win, securing the sixth singles position for LMU and giving Hrasek a record of 4-0 this season.
Bourguignon sealed the win for Lincoln Memorial, as after dropping his first set, Bourguignon rallied to take the last two from Carson-Newman in a two-sets to one victory. Bourguignon rallied to win the second set, as after the first set was decided 2-6, Bourguignon allowed just one from his opponent in the second set to force a third set. The third started rocky for LMU, as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead before holding a 4-2 lead, attempting to bring Carson-Newman within two. But Bourguignon rallied, scoring four points in a row to edge out a 6-4 win and claiming a 2-1 victory, securing the Splitters a 4-1 team win.
The Railsplitters will travel to Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday for their regular season finale, facing the Bears starting at 11:00 a.m.
RESULTS
Doubles:
#1: Alexandru Rares Giurea/Mathis Amsellem vs Yassin Ali/Leonard Baecker: 3-4 (UF)
#2: Sergio Sebastian Aranzeta Boneta/Hugo Ruiz Espejo vs Max Stollecker/Louis Keenan: 6-2
#3: Victor Bourguignon/Radu Florea vs Darko Kolevski/Giancarlo Rosario: 6-2
Singles:
#1: Alexandru Rares Giurea vs Louis Keenan: 6-2, 6-1
#2: Mathias Roy vs Max Stollecker: 1-6, 1-6
#3: Mathis Amsellem vs Yassin Ali: 6-2, 1-6, 1-3 (UF)
#4: Radu Florea vs Leonard Baecker: 6-4, 6-5 (UF)
#5: Victor Bourguignon vs Darko Kolevski: 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
#6: Jakub Hrasek vs Giancarlo Rosario: 6-3, 6-1
