HICKORY, N.C. – The No. 33 Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Tennis Team closed out a perfect regular season at home with a 4-3 victory over No. 46 Anderson on Thursday afternoon. The Bears improved to 10-0 at the YMCA of Catawba Valley and secured a second-place tie in the South Atlantic Conference with the victory. The Bears will head into the SAC Tournament riding a five game winning streak.
GAME VITALS
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 4, Anderson 3
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (17-3, 8-2 SAC) | Anderson (12-7, 6-4 SAC)
COACHES TAKE
"It was another incredible day for the men," said Head Coach
Tom Rees. "They saved a match point which ended up being the difference today. Anderson is a great squad and we had to play some tough tennis to get by them. I couldn't be prouder of the men and their outstanding regular season."
HOW IT HAPPENED
LR grabbed the early advantage by winning the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. In third doubles, the pair of
Tales Miranda and
Hamed Gandouz earned a 6-4 victory and the number one duo of
Mauricio Hernandez and
Shane O'Dea clinched the point with a 7-5 win.
With a point in hand, the Bears marched into singles action and O'Dea pushed the lead to 2-0 with a straight set victory. O'Dea defeated Tomas Depaggio 6-0, 6-2 but Anderson grabbed a 6-7, 6-2, 6-0 win in the first line. Anderson also won in three sets in third singles to even the contest at two before Miranda put LR back on top. The junior won 6-2, 6-4 and put LR within one victory of a clinch. For the second straight day,
Lewis Scott clinched the victory with a win in the number six spot, winning 6-1, 6-2 to send LR to its second straight win over a ranked opponent.
UP NEXT
The Bears will host a South Atlantic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal match on Monday with the opponent and time TBD.
