Charlotte, N.C. - Gardner-Webb men's tennis scored a nail-biting 4-3 win at Atlantic 10 member Charlotte, taking the win in a match which saw two doubles matches decided by tiebreak and the deciding singles match resolved in three sets.
With the win, GWU improves to 5-8 (0-1) on the season.
The Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a good start against Charlotte (11-6) in what proved to be a dramatic doubles point to open the match. GWU took wins at all three doubles positions, including one at No. 1 as Korhan Ates/Adam Knutsson-Sundblad teamed up to knock off Jack Williams/Alex Calott by a count of 9-8 (7-4).
At No. 2, Ernest Alberch and Matthew Parker took a 9-7 win over Krzysztof Kwasniewictz/Kamil Khalil. The freshmen duo of Brendan Dempsey and Joao Poli added a 9-8 (7-3) win against Paul Cisti/Anthony Davison at No. 3 doubles for GWU.
Gardner-Webb was able to knock off the 49ers thanks to solid play from its No. 4, 5, and 6 players. Junior Roman Piftor (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) grabbed a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 triumph at No. 4 singles, outlasting Cisti to earn the win.
At No. 5, Poli (Londrina, Brazil) battled to take a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory over Davison to get the Runnin' Bulldogs an important singles win in the waning moments of the match.
At No. 6, Dempsey (Dublin, Ireland) delivered a huge win, coming from behind to earn a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory to seal the match for Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb will be back in action tomorrow to take on the Flames of Liberty in Big South men's tennis action. The match is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start time.
