Box score
BREVARD, N.C. - After sweeping though the doubles round with
three straight victories, Anderson University men's used a pair of
singles victories to advance into the semifinals of the South
Atlantic Conference Tournament, as the third-seeded Trojans knocked
off sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial, 5-0, Thursday afternoon at the
Brevard College Tennis Complex.
With the victory, the Black and Gold advances to the semifinals
of the SAC Tournament for the first time in two seasons and pick up
their first conference tournament victory since claiming the league
title in 2010. Anderson moves to 14-4 on the season, while the
Railsplitters close their season at 7-8.
The doubles tandem of juniors Paul Michael Calhoun and Inaki
Iriberry put the Trojans on the scoreboard first when they tallied
an 8-3 triumph over LMU's Carlos Zunino and Guilherme Rocha at the
No. 3 position. Following the win, the No. 1 team of sophomores
Juan Carracedo and Mateo Rivas fended off Joshua Coulthard and Will
Sparks, 8-6, to clinch AU's lead heading into the singles
round.
The Black and Gold captured a 3-0 advantage when sophomore
Nicolas Ascarrunz and freshman Harrison Kansol defeated LMU's Pepe
Batalla and Joshua Peress, 8-4, at the No. 2 position.
Needing just two singles victories to seal the match, Carracedo
handed AU its fourth team point of the afternoon with a 6-0, 6-4
victory over Sparks at the No. 2 slot. Kansol closed the match and
preserved the shutout by cruising 6-0, 6-1 over Zunino at the No. 6
slot for his eight win over a conference opponent this season.
The rest of the singles matches went unfinished as the match
ends when the fifth team point is recorded in SAC Tournament play.
Ascarrunz and Iriberry both held one-set leads when play was
halted.
The Trojans return to the courts on Friday when they take on No.
2 seed Tusculum for a chance to advance to the SAC Tournament
championship on Saturday. First serve from the Brevard Tennis
Complex is scheduled for 9 a.m.