Atlanta, Ga. - The men's tennis team of North Carolina Wesleyan dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Washington and Lee University in Friday afternoon's NCAA Tournament First Round action hosted by Emory University. The Bishops, who were previously 7-0 in opening round play, finish the season with a 16-8 overall record.
Playing their first match since April 29th when NCWC downed W&L 7-2 on the road, Wesleyan looked to be in control early by picking up a 3-0 doubles sweep. The duos of Sebastian Sikh/Peter Hviid, Mikhail Konnov/David Chang, and Ioannis Brokakis/Eduardo Ugalde posted 8-6, 9-8, and 8-3 victories, respectively.
In singles play, the Generals (16-8) quickly closed the gap to 3-2 with a pair of straight-set wins at the #1 and #2 seeds, turning the tables on Sikh and Brokakis who had done the same two weeks prior. W&L's Perry Clements proceeded to knot the match at 3-3 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at #5, only to see Hviid bring the Bishops to within one point of the win with a 6-1, 7-5 win at #6.
With the match on the line, W&L's Joe Siami took a three-setter from Konnov with a 6-3 victory in the final set to tie the score at 4-4. The Generals' Will Bannister then went the distance with NCWC's Mark Sokolov, eventually sealing the upset with a 7-5 win in the third.
Despite the tough loss, the Bishops turned in another tremendous season with their 16 victories and 8th-straight USA South regular season and tournament championships. Wesleyan is now 8-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
