The College of Charleston men's tennis team split its opening day of the spring season Sunday, falling 1-6 at No. 75 Clemson before rallying to shut out Spartanburg Methodist with a 7-0 victory.
The Cougars kicked off the morning matchup with the Tigers in promising fashion, winning two of three doubles matches. The first flight pairing of Rodrigo Encinas and Juan Estevarena got the first win of the day over Luke Johnson and Robert Dudley by a score of 6-3. Charlie Ghriskey and Zack Lewis stumbled 4-6 in the second flight, but Josh Record and Vasily Kichigin ralled in the third flight to win 6-4, giving the Cougars the doubles point.
The Tigers came back strong in singles play by winning all six matchups, but CofC didn't go down without a fight. Ghriskey, Kichigin and Ryan Khan all managed to force their opponents into three games, with Kichigin's 6-1, 5-7, 3-6 loss to Arturo Pizano in the fourth flight coming the closest.
The Cougars then hit the road for Spartanburg, S.C. to take on the Pioneers, who were ranked No. 11 in the country in the NJCAA. Though the Cougars swept all three doubles matches, SMC fought valiantly, particularly in the top flight where Encinas and Estevarena narrowly escaped with a 8-6 win over Adam and JT Elliget.
When singles play rolled around, the Cougars really found their stride, particularly in flights two, three, four and five. Between, Estevarena, Ghrisky, Kichigin and Khan, the quartette allowed a combined four sets to their opponents. Ghrisky headlined the group by shutting out his opponent Hufelder Duarte by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
The College will have the next five days off to prepare for their next slate, a weekend trip to Florida, where they will play Florida A&M and Bethune Cookman.
Clemson 6, CofC 1
SINGLES
Alex Favrot def. Juan Estevarena – 6-4, 6-1
Luke Johnson def. Charlie Ghriskey – 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Daffra Sanon def. Rodrigo Encinas – 6-2, 6-1
Arturo Pinazo def. Vasily Kichigin – 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
Austin Ansari def. Zach Lewis – 6-4, 6-0
Brent Lett def. Ryan Khan – 6-2, 3-6, 1-0(5)
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
DOUBLES
Encinas/Estevarena def. Johnson/Dudley – 6-3
Favrot/Sanon def. Ghriskey/Lewis – 6-4
Record/Kichigin def. Ansari/Harris 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Spartanburg Methodist 0, CofC 7
SINGLES
Zack Lewis def. Adam Elliget – 6-2, 2-6(7)
Juan Esteverana def. Mouhamed Gueye – 6-0, 6-1
Charlie Ghriskey def. Hufelder Duarte – 6-0, 6-0
Vasily Kichigin def. JT Elliget – 6-0, 6-1
Ryan Khan def. Austin Green – 6-2, 6-0
Josh Record def. Dalton Hendrix – 6-1, 7-5
DOUBLES
Estevarena/Encinas def. Elliget/Elliget – 8-6
Lewis/Ghriskey def. Gueye/Duarte – 8-0
Record/Kichigin def. Green/Hendrix – 8-4
