Friday, 04/13/2012

Florence, S.C.----The Concordia (N.Y.) College men’s tennis team rallied from a 2-1 doubles deficit to take a 6-3 NCAA Division II victory over Wingate University Friday afternoon at the Kassab Courts on the Francis Marion University campus. The Clippers are the number seven team in the latest ITA NCAA Division II top 50 poll.

The match featured the 2012 South Atlantic Conference champion Bulldogs and the 2012 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion Clippers. The number one team in the East Region, Concordia improves to 14-7 overall with the victory. Wingate slips to 15-6 overall.

The Bulldogs won two of the three doubles matches to start the afternoon. At the number one flight, senior Flavio Rathsam (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and freshman Neal Towlson (Warwick, Bermuda) earned an 8-2 victory over Clipper freshman Tomasz Olfans (Opole, Poland) and sophomore Richardo Frey (Curitiba, Brazil).

Concordia tied the match 1-1 with a win at the number two doubles position. On court three, Bulldog sophomore Ryan Forbes (Charlotte, N.C.) and freshman Diego Martinez (Queretaro, Mexico) outlasted Clipper sophomore David Tisserand (Lyon, France) and junior Andreas Lindell (Helsingborg, Sweden) by an 8-6 final score.

The Clippers lost only one set and one tiebreaker in singles. Wingate senior Drew Owen (Kitchener, Ontario) defeated Concordia senior Geza Bazula (Budapest, Hungary) 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (4) at the number two singles flight. The two combatants played a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of the third set.

Both Martinez and Forbes battled before dropping identical 7-5 decisions in the first set to Tisserand and freshman Mark Mozer (Brest, Belarus), respectively. In the number one singles contest, Concordia sophomore Daniele Piludu (Cagliari, Italy) defeated Wingate’s Rathsam 6-1, 6-4. Piludu is ranked number 20 in the ITA NCAA Division II singles top 50.

Wingate returns home Saturday, hosting Coker College at 11 a.m. The match will be the final regular season home match for Rathsam, Owen and Matt Lichtenstein (Darnestown, Md.).  Concordia concludes its Southern tour Saturday, visiting number 10 Francis Marion for a 3 p.m. contest.

Tennis Match Results
#7 Concordia (N.Y.) vs Wingate
Apr 13, 2012 at Florence, S.C.
(Kassab Courts)

#7 Concordia (N.Y.) 6, Wingate 3

Singles competition

1. #20 Daniele Piludu (CC) def. Flavio Rathsam (WU) 6-1, 6-4
2. Drew Owen (WU) def. Geza Bazula (CC) 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (4)
3. David Tisserand (CC) def. Diego Martinez (WU) 7-5, 6-0
4. Tomasz Olfans (CC) def. Neal Towlson (WU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Mark Mozer (CC) def. Ryan Forbes (WU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Ricardo Frey (CC) def. Josh Eardley (WU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Rathsam/Towlson (WU) def. Olfans/Frey (CC) 8-2
2. Piludu/Bazula (CC) def. Owen/Eardley (WU) 8-3
3. Martinez/Forbes (WU) def. Tisserand/Andreas Lindell (CC) 8-6

Match Notes:

Concordia (N.Y.) 14-7 overall; Nat’l ranking #7;
Wingate 15-6 overall
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,5,4,3,1,2)

Wingate hosts Coker Saturday (11 a.m.)
Concordia (N.Y.) visits #10 Francis Marion Saturday (3 p.m.)