University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
No. 2 Liberty
Bulldogs Fall 4-2 in Big South Quarterfinals to Liberty
04.19.2015 | Men's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In a hard fought, back-and-forth match, the No. 7 seed UNC Asheville men's tennis team fell to No. 2 seed Liberty, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the Big South Championships on Sunday afternoon at the Asheville Racquet Club.
Asheville wraps up its year with an 11-8 overall record, while the Flames improve to 13-9 for the year and advance to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the No. 3 Winthrop vs. No. 6 Radford match.
“I thought that it was disappointing to lose but I was proud of the way our guys performed, not only today, but throughout the season,” said head coach Tom Hand. “I've been proud to be associated with them. I could not have asked for more from them today, the guys came out and played a great doubles point and got off to a good start. Liberty came out firing in singles, all credit to them, and it turned out to be a real good battle just as we expected. Hats off to Liberty, they are a great team and there is a reason that they are the No. 2 seed. I am proud of the way the guys performed today.”
The Bulldogs got out to a good start in doubles with a quick 8-2 win courtesy of Daniel Kripak and Josh Swindler on court three. Liberty answered with an 8-5 victory at No. 2, leaving the doubles point to be decided at the top flight. Trailing 5-2, Alex Croker and Brett Landau battled back, scoring the next five point, before securing an 8-6 win and the doubles point for the Blue & White.
Liberty then took over the early portion of singles play with Sam Matheson defeating Kripak 6-3, 6-3 at the top flight and Diego Castano downing Landau 6-2, 6-3 to take a 2-1 advantage. Asheville knotted the contest at 2-2 after Croker secured a straight-sets victory over Jason Burgess, 6-3, 6-4.
Courts three and two provided the final drama of the afternoon. After falling in the first set, 3-6, Swindler battled back to tie the match with Liberty's Egon Samaai at No. 3 with a 6-4 win second set win. Swindler jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the third set, but it would be Samaai who seized the match, scoring five straight point and a 6-2 third set win.
On court two, Thomas Panoulas dropped the first set 6-2, but put on a strong performance in the second set. Trailing 5-3 in the second set, he rattled off three straight point to grab a 6-5 set lead. Liberty's Jorge Azuera withstood Panoulas' charge to tie the set at 6-6 and eventually take the tiebreaker and clinch the match for Liberty.
Seniors John Schubel and Will Goldberg represented the Blue & White for the final time today. “Those two guys have been with us for what seems like forever now and have been a massive part of the team for a long time,” said Hand. “They showed great leadership, obviously Schubel played a lot more matches, and I think that he was on his way to winning his last one, but unfortunately he had to stop but he has been a great for us. Goldberg did not have as much playing time as he would have liked but he contributed in so many ways. From practice every day and being incredibly helpful to me, almost like an assistant coach. Those guys have been invaluable and we will be sorry to see them go.”
The semifinal of the Big South Championships will continue on Monday with a pair of semifinal matches. The first match is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and will feature the top seed, Coastal Carolina and No. 4 seed Campbell. The second semifinal will feature No. 2 Liberty and either No. 3 Winthrop and No. 6 Radford at approximately 2:00 p.m. Both matches will take place at the Asheville Racquet Club.
Players Mentioned
