Men’s tennis celebrated Senior Day on April 15. Pictured left to right are: Head Coach Mark Gardiner, Elias Fernandez, Leo Zancheta, Mateo Bivol, Luke Layton, Lawrence Friedland, Stratas Anastopoulo, Christian Clair, Enzo Blavignat, Marcel Schomburg, Adam Black.
Newberry College Athletics
NEWBERRY — The Newberry College men’s tennis team (12-14, 3-9 SAC) fell to the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters in a hard-fought 4-3 match on Senior Day to conclude the 2021-22 season.
“We were close,” said Assistant Coach Elias Fernandez. “The guys fought hard, but it just wasn’t enough.”
The Wolves struck first in doubles play as Mateo Bivol (Bordeaux, France) and Leo Zancheta (Assis, Brazil) earned a 6-3 win at the No. 2 doubles position, but the Railsplitters fought back to take the No. 3 doubles match. With the doubles point on the line, Marcel Schomburg (Bingen, Germany) and Lawrence Friedland (Cary, N.C.) pushed their opponents to the brink, but the Railsplitters ultimately survived doubles play by taking the No. 1 doubles position in a 9-7 tiebreaker.
Bivol started off singles play by asserting his dominance with a 6-0, 6-1 victory at the top singles position to tie up the match. Friedland then earned a tough 6-4, 7-6 win after taking the second set in a tiebreaker. Then, after shaking off a tough first set, Zancheta persevered to earn an impressive 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles to push the Railsplitters to the brink. However, Lincoln Memorial struck back with wins at the No. 2 and No. 4 singles positions, despite an impressive comeback attempt from Stratas Anastopoulo (Charleston). With the match on the line, Enzo Blavignat (Bordeaux, France) elevated his game to another level in the second set to overcome a 2-5 deficit to force a decisive third set for the entire match. However, the Railsplitters were able to do just enough to steal the win.
“The guys flipped the program around,” said Fernandez. “To go from where we were last year to now is a great success for the group of guys we have, and I am excited about what the future holds as we keep building toward next year.”