University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian College
Men’s Tennis visits Presbyterian for Big South Tournament matchup
04.09.2022 | Men's Tennis
Bulldogs, Blue Hose square off Thursday at 2:00 PM
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Big South announced the 2022 Men's Tennis Championship seedings on Saturday evening, with No. 5 UNC Asheville set to visit No. 4 Presbyterian on Thursday in a first-round matchup. Campbell earned the No. 1 seed Radford earned the No. 2 seed, Gardner-Webb is the No. 3 seed and North Carolina A&T rounded out the six-team tournament field at No. 6.
The 2022 Big South Men's Tennis Championship first round will be played Thursday, April 14 on campus at the higher seeds before moving to the Marion Diehl Tennis Center in Charlotte, N.C., for the semifinals and finals on April 23-24. The Big South's Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.
Senior Salute
Sunday's canceled match with Charlotte was due to be Senior Day for Leo Bierbaum, Sirawit Daosaengsawang and Quinn Fender. Bierbaum has tallied an impressive record of 45-13 in four years at UNC Asheville, including a 16-3 mark as a freshman, earning Second Team All-Big South Singles. After leading the team in wins during the COVID season, last year Bierbaum rode an 11-2 record to Second Team All-Big South Singles and Second Team All-Big South Doubles status.
Hailing from Bangkok, Thailand, Daosaengsawang has amassed 28 wins during his time at UNC Asheville. As a junior, Daosaengsawang – or "Birdie" as he is more well known – was a perfect 4-0 in Big South play as the Bulldogs captured the program's first-ever regular-season title. Birdie's victories against Presbyterian and Gardner-Webb helped Asheville finish the Big South slate 4-0 last year. This season, Daosaengsawang has added six singles victories and competed in eight doubles matches.
Fender has been a key piece for the Bulldogs, especially this season in which he is 8-5 in singles competition including a 4-2 mark against Big South opponents. As a rookie, Fender went 10-3 including a perfect 4-0 record in conference play. Entering Sunday, the native of Village of Golf, Florida, has won three straight singles matches.
The Championship schedule is as follows and is subject to change:
Thursday, April 14 – First Round
No. 5 UNC Asheville at No. 4 Presbyterian College, 2:00pm
No. 6 North Carolina A&T at No. 3 Gardner-Webb, 2:00pm
Saturday, April 23 – Semifinals
No. 1 Campbell vs. 4/5 Winner, 9:00am
No. 2 Radford vs. 3/6 Winner, 12:00pm
Sunday, April 24 – Championship
TBD vs. TBD, 12:00pm
