University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian College
Historic season for Men’s Tennis ends at Big South Championship
04.16.2021 | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's tennis team finished its historic 2021 season on Friday, falling to Presbyterian 4-1 in the Big South Championship Semifinals at the Marion Diehl Tennis Center in Charlotte.
Presbyterian started the day by taking two of the three doubles to grab the team point, taking three of four singles matches to earn the team victory and a trip to Saturday's championship match.
"Obviously not the result we wanted today, but full credit to PC," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Tom Hand. "They played really well. We fought hard but came up just short."
What a Run
Asheville entered Friday's semifinal after capturing the program's first recognized Big South Regular Season Title last week at Gardner-Webb. The Bulldogs went 5-0 against Big South foes during the year to lock up the No. 1 seed for the tournament, and will finish with an overall record of 8-6. Earlier this week, Asheville earned a number of All-Conference awards including: Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"It's been a great season," Hand said. "Every one of our guys can hold their head high."
How it Happened
Oli Nolan and Rafa Serra continued to play well as a duo, downing their opponents 6-2 at the No. 2 flight. The Blue Hose responded however, edging out flight's No. 1 and No. 3 to grab an early 1-0 lead.
In singles competition, Jon Brann Reid showed why he was named Big South Freshman of the Year, topping Georgije Babic 6-3, 6-3 to get the Bulldogs on the board. Presbyterian would get a point at the No. 2 flight, and despite a strong effort from Harry Thursfield (6-2, 2-6, 6-4), the Blue Hose took another point at flight No. 4, needing just one more point to advance. Like Thursfield, Sirawit Daosaensawang battled until the end, but ultimately fell 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 as Presbyterian claimed the match.
To view the stats from the Big South site, click here.
Presbyterian 4, UNC Asheville 1
Doubles:
1. STENGER, Daniel/DOMINGUEZ, Sebastian (PC) def. MORKEL, Charlie/REID, Jon Brann (AVL) 7-5
2. NOLAN, Oli/SERRA, Rafa (AVL) def. BENSON, Max/CONDE, Alberto (PC) 6-2
3. MATOS, Javier/MCKINNEY, Nicholas (PC) def. BIERBAUM, Leo/THURSFIELD, Harry (AVL) 7-5
Singles:
1. NOLAN, Oli (AVL) vs. BENSON, Max (PC) 1-6, 7-5, unfinished
2. DOMINGUEZ, Sebastian (PC) def. MORKEL, Charlie (AVL) 7-5, 6-3
3. REID, Jon Brann (AVL) def. BABIC, Georgije (PC) 6-3, 6-3
4. MCKINNEY, Nicholas (PC) def. THURSFIELD, Harry (AVL) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
5. STENGER, Daniel (PC) vs. BIERBAUM, Leo (AVL) no result
6. MATOS, Javier (PC) def. DAOSAENGSAWANG, Sira (AVL) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
Match Notes
Presbyterian 9-7 (2-3 Big South)
UNC Asheville 8-6 (5-0 Big South)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,4,6)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,6
Players Mentioned
