ELON, N.C. – Rodrigo Encinas secured final point of the match in the No 3 singles flight, to push the College of Charleston men's tennis team to a win over Elon, 4-3, on Wednesday.
The Cougars (14-6) split their matches over the past matches against Georgia State and The Citadel, and came into this match looking to better position themselves for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament that starts on April 21. Elon (14-5) came in having won its last seven matches in a row, and having similar hopes of boosting its post-season ranking.
Elon took the first point of the match after securing the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. The loss at No. 1 for Juan Estevarena and Rodrigo Encinas was their first loss as a tandem since March 12 against Old Dominion. Charlie Ghriskey and Zack Lewis won their match at No. 3 doubles, 7-6, by winning the tie-breaker, 7-4.
In the singles flights, The College did all of its work towards winning the match in the No. 3 through No. 6 matches. Rodrigo Encinas picked up the game winning point at the No. 3 singles spot, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.
While the College dropped the No. 1 and No. 2 singles flights, they made up for it where it mattered, and Garrett Gordon picked up a key win in the No. 6 spot, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Zack Lewis won, 6-3, 6-1, at the No. 4 position, and Vasily Kichigin won the No. 5 flight, 6-2, 6-3.
The College has two matches left in the regular season, the next of which will be against Davidson on its home court in Charlotte, N.C. The match is scheduled to be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10.
Charleston 4, Elon 3
Doubles
1. Petar Tomic/Chris Humphreys (ELON) def. Juan Estevarena/Rodrigo Encinas (COFCM) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Mario Paccini/Robert Lindgren (ELON) def. Josh Record/Vasily Kichigin (COFCM) 6-2
3. Charlie Ghriskey/Zack Lewis (COFCM) def. Neal Port/Salvador Mijares (ELON) 7-6 (7-4)
Singles
1. Felipe Sarrasague (ELON) def. Juan Estevarena (COFCM) 6-1, 6-2
2. Mario Paccini (ELON) def. Charlie Ghriskey (COFCM) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
3. Rodrigo Encinas (COFCM) def. Salvador Mijares (ELON) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-2
4. Zack Lewis (COFCM) def. Petar Tomic (ELON) 6-3, 6-1
5. Vasily Kichigin (COFCM) def. Chris Humphreys (ELON) 6-2, 6-3
6. Garrett Gordon (COFCM) def. Felipe Osses-Konig (ELON) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
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