RICHMOND, Ky. – The Lipscomb University men's tennis team went down to the wire for the second straight match, and just like Friday's win at Queens, the Bisons took down the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky University, 4-3, Sunday afternoon from the Greg Adams Tennis Center.
Final Score: Lipscomb 4, Eastern Kentucky 3
Location: Richmond, Kentucky (Greg Adams Tennis Center)
Records: Lipscomb (10-10, 4-3), Eastern Kentucky (9-17, 2-6)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lipscomb got out to a strong start with the doubles point. After
Antoine Testaud and
Oliver Thoeny (4-2) took the win on court three, EKU evened it up at the top flight thanks to a 6-4 win by Fernando Bulnes and Nuno Pinheiro.
However, after the second flight went into a tiebreak all even at six games apiece,
Giovanni Ciocca and
Facundo Perlov (1-2) used their first win as a doubles duo to defeat Ryan Kitchin/Pepe Miralles, 7-2, to earn the team point.
After Eastern Kentucky started singles with a straight-set from the top flight to even the match at a point apiece, Testaud (14-9) and Ciocca (16-12) won the next two flights to give the Bisons the 3-1 lead.
Testaud, from the No. 4 spot in the lineup, earned his ninth spring win of the season with set scores of 6-3, 6-2 over Kartik Parhar.
Ciocca improved to 12-8 in spring matches after dropping Fernando Bulnes in three sets, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
EKU came back once again to win courts three and five, this marked the second straight match Lipscomb has seen come down to the final point.
Friday, it was
Juan Lombisano who clinched the match for the Bisons. On Sunday, it came down to transfer
Filippo Verdese, who rallied from a 6-1 loss in the first set to force a third set with a 6-4 victory over Pepe Miralles.
In the final set, Verdese (7-4) did not allow Miralles win a single game, as he shut him out, 6-0, to take the match.
The Bisons secured double figures in the win column for the second time in as many seasons. Now with 10, the Bisons can match the most wins in a season since at least 2006.
UP NEXT
The Bisons will wrap up the regular season with a contest against North Florida for Senior Day. First serve from the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday.
