University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Gardner-Webb University
Men’s Tennis travels Gardner-Webb for shot at Big South Crown
04.06.2021 | Men's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Sitting at 4-0 in Big South play, the UNC Asheville men's tennis team travels to Gardner-Webb on Wednesday afternoon (3:00 p.m.), and would claim the 2021 Spring Big South Regular Season Championship with a victory.
The Bulldogs have already clinched at least a share of the regular-season championship – the first recognized in program history – and a victory Wednesday would give Asheville the outright crown and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big South Championship (April 16-17) in Charlotte. If Asheville falls, the Bulldogs will seeded either No. 2 or 3, depending on the league's tie-breaking procedures.
A look at Asheville
Although they fell at ETSU last Tuesday, the Bulldogs had won four-straight matches against Big South competition to that point. For his efforts in the wins over Presbyterian (4-3) and Radford (5-2), Charlie Morkel was named the Big South Men's Tennis Player of the Week on March 31. Morkel, who had gone 2-0 at No. 1 doubles with Jon Brann Reid and 2-0 at No. 2 singles, ranks second among Big South players with a record of 7-4 at the No. 2 flight, while Morkel and Reid are second in the Big South with a doubles record of 7-3. Reid leads Big South performers with a 5-2 record at the No. 3 flight, while Harry Thursfield paces the conference at the No. 4 flight (4-1).
Scouting the Runnin' Bulldogs
Gardner-Webb is 8-8 on the season and 3-1 in Big South play, with its lone loss coming at Radford on March 26 (1-6). Victor Putter and Breno Plentz have both spent time at the No. 1 singles flight, with Putter going 2-1 against Big South opponents and Plentz an even 2-2. Putter and Chrisjan Van Wyk have been dominant at the No. 1 doubles flight, going 9-0 as a duo. Plentz has teamed up with Stefano Puga to go 7-2 at the No. 2 doubles flight, and 3-1 in conference play.
History
Gardner-Webb and Asheville have met 16 times since 2005, with the Bulldogs going 6-10 in those meetings. UNC Asheville has split the last six matchups, with the Runnin' Bulldogs claiming the last two. Asheville's last win was in April of 2017, when the Bulldogs downed Gardner-Webb 4-3 in Winston-Salem.
