University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Tusculum University
Men’s Tennis edged out by Tusculum 4-3
02.25.2021 | Men's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's tennis program welcomed Tusculum to the Asheville Racquet Club on a sunny Thursday afternoon, being narrowly defeated by the visiting Pioneers 4-3.
"Full credit to Tusculum," said head coach Tom Hand. "They played harder than we did today and deserved the win."
Asheville started out strong taking two of the three doubles matches to earn the first point of the day. Charlie Morkel and Leo Bierbaum topped their opponents 6-4 at the No. 2 doubles flight, while Finlay Ray McFayden and Rafa Serra prevailed 6-4 at the No. 3 doubles flight.
In singles competition, Morkel edged out Nemanja Subanovic 6-3, 7-6 at the No. 2 flight to move to 2-0 at the No. 2 spot for the season, while Bierbaum looked impressive in his 6-2, 6-0 victory over Leon Huck at the No. 3 singles position.
Oli Nolan battled at the No. 1 singles position, but was ultimately bested in the third set 6-1. Sira Daosaengsawang traded points in the opening set at the No. 4 singles spot, but fell in the second, as Serra and McFayden each dropped their singles matches as Tusculum, whose only loss is to No. 23 North Georgia, took the match 4-3.
"We have two tough matches coming up this weekend," Hand said. "We'll have to compete better to be successful."
The Bulldogs are set to hit the road for their next two matches, traveling to N.C. Central on Saturday and Wofford on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Tusculum 4, UNC Asheville 3Doubles:
1. Leon Huck/Nemanja Subanovic (TU) def. Oli Nolan/ Sira Daosaengsawang (AVL) 6-4
2. Charlie Morkel/ Leo Bierbaum (AVL) def. Dmitry Bezborodov/Frank Bonacia (TU) 6-4
3. Finlay Ray McFayden/Rafa Serra (AVL) def. Jacco Mensinga/Kenta Kondou (TU) 6-4
Singles:
1. Dmitry Bezborodov (TU) def. Oli Nolan (AVL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
2. Charlie Morkel (AVL) def. Nemanja Subanovic (TU) 6-3, 7-6
3. Leo Bierbaum (AVL) def. Leon Huck (TU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Frank Bonacia (TU) def. Sira Daosaengsawang (AVL) 7-6, 6-2
5. Manuel Almeida (TU) def. Rafa Serra (AVL) 7-5, 6-3
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
