MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 3) – In its opening match of the spring season, the University of Mount Olive men's tennis program suffered a 7-0 loss in an exhibition contest against Campbell, a Division I team, on Saturday afternoon at the John Neal Walker Tennis Center.
With the loss, the Trojans will play their first official match next week when they travel to face Lander in a regional matchup. Mount Olive was voted third in the preseason Conference Carolinas poll and returns an experienced lineup under first-year head coach Jack McCartney. Meanwhile, Campbell improves to 1-1 overall after opening the year agaisnt nationally-ranked UNC.
The Fighting Camels claimed the doubles point after winning two of three matches to begin the contest on Saturday. In the first position, senior
Guilherme Zotin de Oliveira and freshman
Kristoffer Dalbak fell by a 6-4 margin to Benjamin Maes and Damien Nezar. Sophomore
Niklas Gruenefeldt and senior
Adam Ibrahim competed in second singles and suffered a 6-4 loss to Lukas Steffen and Tomas Balazi. In the third slot, freshman
Lenn Hoffmann and sophomore
Bram Poel won by a 6-3 decision against Noe Macquart and Matias Lofink.
Campbell secured the match victory by capturing victories in all six singles matches, including five in straight sets. de Oliveira was dealt a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Maes in the first singles before Gruenefeldt fell by a 6-4, 6-3 margin to Nezar in the second position. Dalbak played in the third slot and suffered a 6-2, 6-0 loss to MacQuart while Poel was defeated 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) in the fourth singles. Sophomore
Kabir Chhabria was featured in the fifth slot and fell by a 6-2, 6-2 final score before
Hampus Hagglund suffered a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) loss to Luke Tollenaar.
Mount Olive returns to the court on Friday, February 9, when it travels to face Lander at a neutral site in Florence, South Carolina, at 2 p.m.
