MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's tennis team extended its Southern Conference win streak to three-straight matches with a 4-3 decision over Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon at the CofC Tennis Center at Patriots Point.
Freshman Zack Lewis (Richmond, Ky.) clinched the dual match as he led 6-4 in the first set and 3-0 in the second set, before ASU's Matt Saltgaver had to retire due to injury.
The Cougars (5-6, 3-2 SoCon) won two of the three doubles matches versus the Mountaineers (3-8, 1-1 SoCon) to take the early 1-0 momentum going into singles play.
Lewis and sophomore Alon Faiman (Ramat Hasharon, Israel) claimed an 8-6 victory over the No. 3 doubles tandem of Steve Karendal and Steve Lake from ASU, while junior Crescente Lesser (Santiago, Chile) and sophomore Sebastian Lopez (Medellin, Colombia) clinched the doubles point by a count of 8-4 over Jen-Willem Kleynhans and Andrew McKinnon on court two.
Freshman Josh Record (Tallahassee, Fla.) saw a start in the singles lineup and put the Cougars up 2-0 on the scoreboard with a straight-set win over Steve Lake, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 6 line.
Junior Brice Allanic (Colombes, France) used a love first set and 6-4 second set to defeat ASU's Sebastien King at the top of the order to position Lewis for the eventual match clincher.
"We are dealing with some health issues right now, but the best part of our team is that everyone is versatile and mentally tough," CofC Head Coach Jay Bruner said. "We were able to play through some things and bring new guys in today. (Freshman) Josh Record played awesome at No. 6 singles and Brice (Allanic) played a complete match at No. 1. We played well in every spot in the lineup, even in the matches we didn't win today. Our guys were tested by App State and I think the team is looking good. We are finding some rhythm in our doubles and the guys are working through things in singles."
CofC will have a quick two-day turnaround as it travels to Georgia Southern on Monday, March 18 at 2 p.m. (ET) in Statesboro, Ga. The match at Mercer on Sunday was cancelled.
"We will play another tough conference school in Georgia Southern on Monday," Bruner said. "This is a tough schedule and we will see what we are made of. We are coming together as a team and finding a way to win four points in each of our matches."
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 4, APPALACHIAN STATE 3
March 16, 2013
CofC Tennis Center at Patriots Point
at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Attendance: 55
SINGLES
No. 1 - Brice Allanic (CofC) def. Sebastien King (ASU), 6-0, 6-4.
No. 2 - Steve Karendal (ASU) def. Sebastian Lopez (CofC), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (7).
No. 3 - Zach Bost (ASU) def. Charlie Ghriskey (CofC), 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (8).
No. 4 - Andrew McKinnon (ASU) def. Alon Faiman (CofC), 6-7, 2-3, retired.
No. 5 - Zack Lewis (CofC) def. Matt Saltsgaver (ASU), 6-4, 3-0, retired.
No. 6 - Josh Record (CofC) def. Steve Lake (ASU), 6-3, 6-2.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - Zach Bost-Sebastien King (ASU) def. Brice Allanic-Charlie Ghriskey (CofC), 8-6.
No. 2 - Crescente Lesser-Sebastian Lopez (CofC) def. Jen-Willem Kleynhans-Andrew McKinnon (ASU), 8-4.
No. 3 - Alon Faiman-Zack Lewis (CofC) def. Steve Karendal-Steve Lake (ASU), 8-6.
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 6, 1, 5*, 4, 2, 3
