Bulldogs Down James Madison in Home Opener

ASHEVILLE – After nearly missing out on the doubles point to begin the match, UNC Asheville's men's tennis team went on to capture five of six singles matches in a 5-2 victory in its home opener against James Madison, Saturday, at the Asheville Racquet Club.

The Bulldogs' (2-1) No. 1 duo of Charlie Morkel and Oli Nolan downed the James Madison (2-2) pairing of Alvaro Arce and Gonzalo Adis, 6-2 to open doubles competition.

Asheville had opportunities to secure the doubles point, but James Madison won the final two doubles matches, 7-6, taking the doubles point by winning both in tiebreakers.
Trailing 1-0 in the dual, the Bulldogs went to work in singles play. Nolan defeated Arce, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 2 to level the score, but JMU's Holden Koons bested Sirawit Daosaengsawang at No. 3, 6-3, 6-4. That would be the last point JMU would put up in the dual.

Morkel found himself in a tight battle at the No. 1 spot, falling to Stefan Petrovic, 3-6, in the first set. Morkel rallied to take the second set, 6-1, and tied the dual back up for the Bulldogs after winning the decisive third set, 6-4.

The final three Bulldogs put on a show, winning three hotly-contested singles matches. Leo Bierbaum, playing at No. 4, won his first set against Damon Roberts, 7-5. Roberts took the second, 6-4, But Bierbaum won the third, 6-2, to put Asheville up 3-2.

Freshman Harry Thursfield gave the Bulldogs the victory, winning two sets via tiebreaker, 7-6, 7-6, at the fifth spot. Quinn Fender added the fifth point for the Bulldogs with a victory at the No. 6 spot. After falling in a tight first set, 7-6 (4), Fender won the second set, 6-3, and then took the decisive third.

"Good win for the guys today," head coach Tom Hand said. "We came about as close to winning the doubles point as you can without actually winning it, so I was very pleased with the way we responded to that."

The Bulldogs return to action with a three-match road swing through Tennessee, beginning with a 6 p.m., Friday showdown at Lipscomb.

UNC Asheville 5, James Madison 2
SINGLES
1. MORKEL, Charlie (AVL) def. Stefan Petrovic (JMU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. NOLAN, Oli (AVL) def. Alvaro Arce (JMU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Holden Koons (JMU) def. DAOSAENGSAWANG, Sira (AVL) 6-3, 6-4
4. BIERBAUM, Leo (AVL) def. Damon Roberts (JMU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
5. THURSFIELD, Harry (AVL) def. Gonzalo Adis (JMU) 7-6 (5-0), 7-6 (2-0)
6. FENDER, Quinn (AVL) def. William Karpinski (JMU) 6-7 (0-4), 6-3, 1-0 (5-0)

DOUBLES
1. MORKEL, Charlie/NOLAN, Oli (AVL) def. Alvaro Arce/Gonzalo Adis (JMU) 6-2
2. Holden Koons/Paul Mendoza (JMU) def. BIERBAUM, Leo/THURSFIELD, Harry (AVL) 7-6 (9-7)
3. William Karpinski/Josh Raymundo (JMU) def. COLCLOUGH, Edward/DAOSAENGSAWANG, Sira (AVL) 7-6 (8-6)

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,1,4,5,6)

Bulldogs Down James Madison in Home Opener

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Leo Bierbaum

Sirawit Daosaengsawang

Quinn Fender

Charlie Morkel

Oli Nolan

Harry Thursfield