Box Score GREENVILLE, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's tennis team (2-1) got off to a promising start on Saturday against Furman (4-1), but the Paladins surged back in singles play to hand the Cougars the 6-1 defeat.
Doubles play was split between Furman and CofC in the lower flights, leaving flight one to decide the point.
Youssef Dabbabi and
Ksawery Pociej engaged in a hard-fought encounter with Furman's Jake Munns and Ivan Mitric, and it took a 7-6(4) tiebreak for the Cougars to emerge victorious.
The Cougars were without the services of top flight ace
Juan Estevarena, which in turn put a strain on the rest of the lineup by forcing the rest of the Cougars to play one spot up in the order. The Paladins took advantage of the discrepancy, beating the College on courts four and one to put CofC down 2-1.
Ryan Khan got off to a promising 5-2 start in the first set of his flight two matchup, but his opponent Jake Muhns rallied to win 11 straight games to take the match 7-5, 6-0.
With the match on the line,
Ksawery Pociej performed admirably on court three, taking Ivan Mitric to three sets before falling 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
The move to an indoor facility meant only four courts were available at once, which resulted in the lower singles flights not starting on time. Because of that, flights five and six got underway just before the match was ultimately decided. Nonetheless, the day ended with two close matches.
Easton Thomas forced a second set tiebreak on court four before falling 7-5, 7-6(5), while
Alec Angradi played to a super tiebreak, succumbing 6-4, 2-6, 11-9.
The Cougars will return to action next Saturday, when they will make their home debut against SC State.
Furman 6, CofC 1
SINGLES
Cameron Green (FUR) def.
Benedikt Henning (CofC) ~ 6-2, 6-3
Jake Munns (FUR) def.
Ryan Khan (CofC) ~ 7-5, 6-0
Ivan Mitric (FUR) def.
Ksawery Pociej (CofC) ~ 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Drew Singerman (FUR) def.
Youssef Dabbabi (CofC) ~ 6-1, 6-1
Jake Bhangdia (FUR) def.
Easton Thomas (CofC) ~ 7-5, 7-6(5)
Alex Steryous (FUR) def.
Alec Angradi (CofC) ~ 6-4, 2-6, 11-9
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 3*, 6, 5
DOUBLES
Dabbabi/Pociej (CofC) def. Mitric/Munns (FUR) ~ 7-6(4)
Henning/Ramirez Lascurian (CofC) def. Green/Singerman (FUR) ~ 6-2
Bhangdia/Steryous (FUR) def. Angradi/Thomas (CofC) ~ 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
