Winthrop men’s tennis blitzes Gardner-Webb 6-1
ROCK HILL, SC- Eagles men’s tennis strengthens conference resume with 6-1 victory over Gardner-Webb this Friday afternoon.
With no overpowering favorite like there has been in years past, the Big South has been up in the air to say the least. Trying to make their case for the best in the conference, the Eagles made a statement to the other Big South teams as they dialed up a 6-1 victory over Gardner Webb, a team who had just recently defeated Liberty University 6-1. Coastal Carolina has shown they are ready to take control of the Big South as they defeated Campbell University 4-3, giving them sole possession of first place in the standings. The Eagles will have an opportunity to earn a share of that first place crown as they will take on the Chanticleers next Friday, April 5th at 2 p.m.
With Winthrop and Gardner-Webb splitting victories at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions, the doubles point came down to the No. 1 spot for the second straight match. The sophomore pairing of Dylan Comerford (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Peter Nagovnak (Kraubath, Austria) clinched the doubles point for the Eagles as they defeated Alberch and Parker 8-5.
The Eagles kept their momentum rolling into the singles round as they were able to capture five out of the six singles matches in straight sets. Freshman Ivar Aramburu (Puebla, Mexico) improved to 5-4 on the season in singles as he dropped Benjamin Kaszas 6-3, 6-2. Gardner-Webb was able to get on the board as Ernest Alberch defeated freshman Juan Pablo Boada (La Paz, Bolivia) 6-2, 6-2. Nagovnak buried Gardner-Webb’s hopes of tying up the score as he defeated Nikita Zverkov 6-2, 6-2. Enjoying a 3-1 match lead, Comerford was able to clinch the match for the Eagles as he dropped Adam Knutsson 6-3, 7-5 at the top spot. Freshman Michael Chen (Johnson City, Tennessee) overcame Brendan Dempsey 7-6, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot. Junior Yuta Hirokawa (Niigata, Japan) improved to a team-best 4-0 in singles play in the Big South Conference as he took out Roman Piftor 6-4, 6-4.
