University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Head to Radford for Big South Regular Season Finale
04.08.2016 | Men's Tennis
THE MATCHUP
Teams: Asheville (9-7, 5-2 BSC)
Radford University (2-13, 1-5 BSC)
Location: Radford University Tennis Complex/ Radford, Va.
Time: 1:00 p.m.
RADFORD– The UNC Asheville Men's Tennis team travels to Radford, Virginia for their final regular season match on Saturday, April 9 before the Big South Conference Tournament begins next week.
NOTABLES
Head-to-Head: The Bulldogs (5-2) are ranked third in Big South Conference standings going into their final regular season match with the eighth-ranked Highlanders (1-5). The last time these two teams met was in the 2015 spring season when Asheville fell 4-3 to Radford at home.
Last Time Out: The Bulldogs are currently enjoying a four match win-streak, with their last conference loss coming to Presbyterian College (4-3) on March 16. Their last match was a 5-2 victory over Longwood University on April 2 for senior day. Asheville took the doubles point and four singles wins from Henry Patten (flight two), Daniel Kripak (flight six), Josh swindler (flight four) and Alex Croker (flight one) to clinch their last match on their home court this season.
Big South Breakdown: Asheville currently sits in third place in the Big South Conference regular season rankings, one win behind second place Presbyterian College (6-2). If the rankings remain the same when the seedings are announced, the Bulldogs would face the No. 6 ranked Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb in the last of four quarterfinal matches on Thursday, April 14 at 2: 00 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated Gardner-Webb (5-2) earlier this season at the Asheville Racquet Club.
First Year Phenom: Freshman, Henry Patten received Big South Conference Freshman of the Week honors for the second week in a row this week. He leads the Bulldogs in singles play with an overall record of 12-4 and a BSC record of 6-1. Patten and his doubles partner Josh Swindler, also post the best record in doubles play for the Bulldogs at 13-3. The pair are undefeated in Big South Conference doubles play with seven straight wins.
QUOTABLES FORM HEAD COACH TOM HAND
On the Match- “Radford is a much better team than their record suggests. We cannot take them lightly. We are looking for a good performance from everyone leading into our conference tournament next week.”
UP NEXT
-Following Saturday's match, the bulldogs will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia for the Big South Conference Championships hosted by Liberty University held on April 13-16 .
