BELMONT, N.C. (April 20) – In a nationally-ranked matchup, the University of Mount Olive men's tennis program suffered a narrow 4-3 loss at Belmont Abbey on Saturday in Conference Carolinas action.
With the loss, the Trojans complete the regular season with a 14-4 overall record behind a 6-2 mark in conference play. Both programs clinched a spot in the Conference Carolinas Championship with the postseason set to begin on Friday, April 26. Meanwhile, the Crusaders improve to 22-18 this season with a 6-2 record in league action.
In the doubles session, Belmont Abbey claimed the initial point of the contest with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Senior
Guilherme Zotin de Oliveira and freshman
Kristoffer Dalbak suffered a 6-3 loss to Jackson Korta and Chase Martin in the first slot. In the second doubles, freshman
Lenn Hoffmann and sophomore
Bram Poel dropped a 6-2 decision to Nicholas Cary and Christian Winstead. Sophomore
Niklas Gruenefeldt and senior
Adam Ibrahim delivered a 6-3 victory against Noelle Andrey Ampong and Tim Stemler in the third position.
The Crusaders managed to secure the 4-3 win in the single portion after winning three matches on Saturday. In the first singles, de Oliveira produced a 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 win over Martin before Gruenefeldt fell by a 6-1, 6-1 margin to Winstead in the second slot. In the third position, Dalbak won in straight-sets by a final score of 6-4, 6-2 versus Cary, while Poel battled to a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win against Stemler in the fourth singles. Sophomore
Kabir Chhabria suffered a 6-3, 6-3 loss in the fifth slot before Ibrahim fell 6-3, 6-3 to Kai Lloveras in the sixth position.
Mount Olive will return to the court on Friday, April 26, for the opening day of competition at the Conference Carolinas Championship in Sumter, South Carolina.
