University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, April 13
Asheville Racquet Club, NC
1:00 p.m.
UNC Asheville
5
vs
2
Liberty University
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Historic Day: Bulldogs Best Liberty, Patten Finishes Regular-Season Undefeated
04.13.2017 | Men's Tennis
THE MATCHUP
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (7-12, 1-6 Big South Conference)
Liberty (7-14, 0-7 Big South Conference)
Location:Â Asheville Racquet Club / Asheville, N.C.
When:Â April 13, 2017Â /Â 1 p.m.
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -Â The UNC Asheville men's tennis team concluded their regular-season slate against Liberty University with a 5-2 victory on Senior Day at the Asheville Racquet Club on Thursday, April 13.
The Flames took the early lead over the Bulldogs, seizing the doubles competition. The No. 1 duo of Henry Patten and Josh Swindler finished 18-1 on the season with their 6-3 triumph over Alex Poynter and Vince Salas. Liberty went on to take court No. 2 and 3 to seize the doubles point. On Court No. 2, Liberty's Diego Castano and Ryker Heller defeated Reid Dillon and Olly Cull, 6-4. Doubles play concluded on court No. 3 as the Bulldogs' Majed Yousif and James Massie lost a heart-breaking 7-6 tiebreak to Max Borcuti and Chase Burton.
The singles competition began with No. 1 seeded Patten downing Burton in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, to finish 19-0 in singles play this regular-season. Court No. 2 saw Swindler top Salas, 6-2, 7-5. On court No. 3, senior Dillon fell 6-3, 7-5, to Castano. Asheville extended their lead when No. 4 seeded Cull bested Helley, 7-6, 6-4. The No. 6 seeded Andrew Sinai rallied to defeat Poynter in a thrilling three-setter, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. The afternoon concluded with No. 5 Massie fighting back to defeat Borcuti, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (5).
Â
BULLDOG BITES
SENIOR DAY: Thursday served as Senior Day for the Bulldogs, as it was their final regular season match. Seniors Reid Dillon and Josh Swindler were honored after the doubles competition by head coach Tom Hand.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Senior Josh Swindler has shown his resiliency and determination this year as seven of his 19 matches have gone a full three sets. Swindler is not only 14-5 on the season in singles play, but 6-1 in matches that have gone the distance. The senior also sits atop the Big South Conference standings at the No. 2 singles slot.
PATTEN MAKES HISTORY: Sophomore Henry Patten has been extremely impressive in his performances this season, earning himself back-to-back Big South Men's Tennis Player of the Week for matches played Jan. 23-29 as well as Feb. 27-March 6. Patten topped the No. 102 ranked singles player at the time, Scott Webster of Appalachian State, earlier this season. Patten also defeated the No. 66 ranked singles player at the time, Eduardo Mena of Tennessee Tech. The native of the U.K. leads the Big South Conference standings at the No. 1 singles slot and finished the regular season 19-0 in singles play on the year, winning every match but one in straight sets. With his victory today, Patten is now the only Bulldog to achieve an undefeated season at No. 1 singles in the history of the program.
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FINISHING THE SEASON STRONG: The No. 1 duo of Henry Patten and Josh Swindler have had a phenomenal season. After today's victory, the top pairing improved to 18-1 on the year and are currently riding a 14-match winning streak heading into championship play.
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will now look forward to competing in the 2017 Big South Men's Tennis Championships, which will be held in Winston-Salem, N.C. on April 19-21.
QUOTABLES
Patten on undefeated regular-season
"I worked really hard in the fall and got some good results, defeating players from some of the bigger schools. I knew that if I played well I could obviously have a good run this season, but I never expected to go undefeated. It's been a great run this year. I have beaten a few nationally-ranked players along the way and have really enjoyed playing with the seniors and being in action on the court. I honestly never thought about the undefeated factor until this match. I took it one match at a time and it paid off in the long run. All credit goes to my teammates and Coach Hand for the support along the way. I am now looking forward to the Big South Conference Championships." – Henry Patten
Â
Hand on Senior Day win for his team
"It was a great win for us today. Our guys fought really hard. It was a big match with a lot riding on it and the guys really showed up today. Great finish to Henry's season to go undefeated at No. 1 singles, which is certainly unprecedented for Asheville if not the league. Obviously now we will take the few days of preparation to concentrate on the conference tournament." – Head Coach Tom Hand
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (7-12, 1-6 Big South Conference)
Liberty (7-14, 0-7 Big South Conference)
Location:Â Asheville Racquet Club / Asheville, N.C.
When:Â April 13, 2017Â /Â 1 p.m.
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -Â The UNC Asheville men's tennis team concluded their regular-season slate against Liberty University with a 5-2 victory on Senior Day at the Asheville Racquet Club on Thursday, April 13.
The Flames took the early lead over the Bulldogs, seizing the doubles competition. The No. 1 duo of Henry Patten and Josh Swindler finished 18-1 on the season with their 6-3 triumph over Alex Poynter and Vince Salas. Liberty went on to take court No. 2 and 3 to seize the doubles point. On Court No. 2, Liberty's Diego Castano and Ryker Heller defeated Reid Dillon and Olly Cull, 6-4. Doubles play concluded on court No. 3 as the Bulldogs' Majed Yousif and James Massie lost a heart-breaking 7-6 tiebreak to Max Borcuti and Chase Burton.
The singles competition began with No. 1 seeded Patten downing Burton in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, to finish 19-0 in singles play this regular-season. Court No. 2 saw Swindler top Salas, 6-2, 7-5. On court No. 3, senior Dillon fell 6-3, 7-5, to Castano. Asheville extended their lead when No. 4 seeded Cull bested Helley, 7-6, 6-4. The No. 6 seeded Andrew Sinai rallied to defeat Poynter in a thrilling three-setter, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. The afternoon concluded with No. 5 Massie fighting back to defeat Borcuti, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (5).
Â
BULLDOG BITES
SENIOR DAY: Thursday served as Senior Day for the Bulldogs, as it was their final regular season match. Seniors Reid Dillon and Josh Swindler were honored after the doubles competition by head coach Tom Hand.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Senior Josh Swindler has shown his resiliency and determination this year as seven of his 19 matches have gone a full three sets. Swindler is not only 14-5 on the season in singles play, but 6-1 in matches that have gone the distance. The senior also sits atop the Big South Conference standings at the No. 2 singles slot.
PATTEN MAKES HISTORY: Sophomore Henry Patten has been extremely impressive in his performances this season, earning himself back-to-back Big South Men's Tennis Player of the Week for matches played Jan. 23-29 as well as Feb. 27-March 6. Patten topped the No. 102 ranked singles player at the time, Scott Webster of Appalachian State, earlier this season. Patten also defeated the No. 66 ranked singles player at the time, Eduardo Mena of Tennessee Tech. The native of the U.K. leads the Big South Conference standings at the No. 1 singles slot and finished the regular season 19-0 in singles play on the year, winning every match but one in straight sets. With his victory today, Patten is now the only Bulldog to achieve an undefeated season at No. 1 singles in the history of the program.
Â
FINISHING THE SEASON STRONG: The No. 1 duo of Henry Patten and Josh Swindler have had a phenomenal season. After today's victory, the top pairing improved to 18-1 on the year and are currently riding a 14-match winning streak heading into championship play.
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will now look forward to competing in the 2017 Big South Men's Tennis Championships, which will be held in Winston-Salem, N.C. on April 19-21.
QUOTABLES
Patten on undefeated regular-season
"I worked really hard in the fall and got some good results, defeating players from some of the bigger schools. I knew that if I played well I could obviously have a good run this season, but I never expected to go undefeated. It's been a great run this year. I have beaten a few nationally-ranked players along the way and have really enjoyed playing with the seniors and being in action on the court. I honestly never thought about the undefeated factor until this match. I took it one match at a time and it paid off in the long run. All credit goes to my teammates and Coach Hand for the support along the way. I am now looking forward to the Big South Conference Championships." – Henry Patten
Â
Hand on Senior Day win for his team
"It was a great win for us today. Our guys fought really hard. It was a big match with a lot riding on it and the guys really showed up today. Great finish to Henry's season to go undefeated at No. 1 singles, which is certainly unprecedented for Asheville if not the league. Obviously now we will take the few days of preparation to concentrate on the conference tournament." – Head Coach Tom Hand
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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