NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 6, Maryville 1
Records: Piedmont, 10-5 (3-0 CCS); Maryville, 6-5 (0-2 CCS)
DEMOREST, Ga. - Piedmont men's tennis picked up its 10th win of the season and moved to 3-0 in the CCS with a 6-1 home win over Maryville Saturday afternoon.
Although the Scots did not go away quietly, the Lions prevailed late in both singles and doubles to pull away for the win.
The duo of
Charles Parnell and
Yannick Wassmer Navarro continued their strong doubles play together, putting away a quick 6-1 win at No. 2.
Needing just one of the remaining two matches to clinch the doubles point,
Mark Backeberg and
Amir Latipov earned a late break and made it 1-0 Piedmont with a 6-3 win at No. 3.
With the point already secured,
Leyton Dunn and
Connor Phelps were locked in a battle at No. 1, but prevailed 7-6 (4) in a tiebreaker in a grueling match that lasted nearly an hour.
No. 1 through No. 3 singles took to the courts first, with the women's match occurring at the same time. Just like in doubles, Parnell was helpful in a key early win, rolling 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 to give the Lions a 2-0 advantage.
However, Maryville was able to win first sets at No. 1 and No. 3 to fight back. The Scots were able to get within one after a three-set win at No. 1, but Backeberg battled back to win a hard-fought battle at No. 3, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to put Piedmont one match away from clinching.
By that point,
Rohan Kavali had taken the court at No. 4 and was in control, on his way to a match-clinching 6-2, 6-1 win.
The freshmen then took the stage with the match outcome decided, as Dunn (6-0, 6-1) and
Horacio Rodriguez (7-5, 6-0) each banked wins at the No. 6 and No. 5 spots, respectively, to end the match.
Up next, the Lions will be on the road for three matches this coming week, starting at Oglethorpe this Tuesday, March 25 at 4 p.m.
TURNING POINT:
- Backeberg was able to flip his match at No. 3 after dropping the first set to keep the Lions in front.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Kavali delivered a clinical performance in his 6-2, 6-1 match-clinching win at No. 4.
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Piedmont has now won 12 consecutive regular season CCS matches.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on
Twitter: @PiedmontLions,
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