NEED TO KNOW:
Match 1 Score: No. 5 Case Western Reserve 7, Piedmont 0
Match 2 Score: Piedmont 6, Wittenberg 1
Record: Piedmont, 6-4

ORLANDO, Fla. - Piedmont men's tennis began its Orlando Spring Break Trip with a pair of matches Sunday, falling to No. 5 Case Western Reserve in its first match before battling dismantling Wittenberg 6-1 in the evening.

Match 1: No. 5 Case Western 7, Piedmont 0

Piedmont opened its Spring Break trip with a tough test, battling the fifth-ranked Spartans on Sunday. Case Western, the 2022-23 NCAA DIII National Champions, were able to take the doubles point and then all six singles lines to deliver the 7-0 sweep.

Piedmont did battle in two of the three doubles matches, with the No. 2 team of Leyton Dunn and Connor Phelps pushing their opponents to the brink in a 7-5 loss. At No. 3 doubles, Amir Latipov and Simon Johnstone battled but lost 6-3 to allow the Spartans to clinch the doubles point.

Although CWRU took all six singles lines in straight sets, Yannick Wassmer Navarro battled in the second set to force the match to a second-set tiebreaker, but eventually falling 6-2, 7-6 (3).

Match 2: Piedmont 6, Wittenberg 1

The Lions wasted no time jumping on the Tigers, taking the doubles point and winning all three matches for good measure.

Charles Parnell and Wassmer Navarro moved down to the No. 2 slot, and won 6-0 as doubles partners for the second time in their past four matches together. Then, it was Amir Latipov and Simon Johnstone who secured the first point of the match, winning 6-2 at No. 3. Although the point was secured, Phelps and Dunn closed out doubles in solid fashion, winning 6-2 at No. 1.

Singles play saw the Lions win in clinical fashion at No. 6, No. 4 and No. 2 to quickly clinch the match. Piedmont lost just five total games across those three lines, with Latipov clinching first at No. 6 with a 6-0, 6-1 dominant display.

Then, it was fellow freshman Artiom Anzhilov, who delivered a 6-0, 6-3 triumph at No. 4 before Parnell clinched for Piedmont at 4-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 2, giving the reigning CCS Rookie of the Year his second clinch in Piedmont's last four matches.

With the win in the bank, the Lions added on as Rohan Kavali won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 to make it 5-0.

Wittenberg was able to scratch across a point, winning in a third-set match tiebreak at No. 5 but the senior Bryce VanOrder closed out the evening on a high note for the Lions, winning a hard-fought battle at No. 1, 6-4, 7-6 (1).

Up next, the Lions will be back in action early Monday morning, taking on King's College of Pa. at 8:30 a.m.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- With a win at No. 4 singles against Wittenberg, freshman Artiom Anzhilov improved to 4-0 in dual singles matches this season.
- The doubles team of Phelps and Dunn continues to show promise, as they moved to 3-1 on the season and the only loss came in a hard-fought 7-5 match against No. 5 Case Western Reserve.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
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