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Asheville, N.C. - Gardner-Webb's men's tennis team had their season come to an end, Thursday morning, as the No. 8 seeded Runnin' Bulldogs fell to No. 1 Radford 5-0 in the Big South Tournament quarterfinals.
GWU finishes the season with a record of 6-16 while the Highlanders (18-5) advance to the semifinal round of the Big South Championships.
Radford jumped on top early by taking the doubles point, winning the matches at No. 2 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead over the Runnin' Bulldogs heading into doubles play.
Gardner-Webb was unable to find a way out of that 1-0 hole. The Highlanders pressed the advantage with quick first set wins at No.'s 1-4, keeping the pressure on GWU throughout the first round matchup.
Radford went up 2-0 with Patrick O'Keefe's win at No. 6 singles, as he outlasted Brendan Dempsey 6-1, 6-2. The advantage grew to 3-0 when the Highlanders' Stijn Meulemans completed a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ernest Alberch at the No. 3 singles position.
The Highlanders sealed the match with wins at No. 2 and No.1. Igor Ogrizek bested Roman Piftor by a 6-3, 6-3 margin, and Big South player of the year Nicholas Sayer outlasted Adam Knutsson-Sundblad for a 6-2, 6-3 win.
The matches at No.'s 4 and 5 singles, as well No. 1 doubles, were unfinished.
GWU had two players record double digit singles wins during the 2012 season. Freshman Brendan Dempsey (Dublin, Ireland) finishes off the year with a 12-7 singles mark, leading the team in singles wins. Junior Roman Piftor (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) ends the season with an 11-11 record in singles play, seeing time at positions No.'s 1-5 throughout the season for the team.
The tandem of Ernest Alberch and Matthew Parker led the Runnin' Bulldogs in doubles wins for the 2012 season, posting a 9-9 record on the year.
Gardner-Webb, which returns each of its athletes for next season, will look to build on the experiences of this season heading into 2013.
Match Results: RU 5 - GWU 0
Doubles
1. Adam Knutsson-Sundblad/Korhan Ates (GWU) led Nicholas Sayer/Thomas Dehaen (RU) 6-3
2. Igor Ogrizek/Stijn Meulemans (RU) def. Matthew Parker/Ernest Alberch (GWU) 8-0
3. Joe Mills/Patrick O'Keefe (RU) def. Stephen Martin/Roman Piftor (GWU) 8-2
Singles
1. Nicholas Sayer (RU) def. Adam Knutsson-Sundblad (GWU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Igor Ogrizek (RU) def. Roman Piftor (GWU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Stijn Meulemans (RU) def. Ernest Alberch (GWU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Thomas Dehaen (RU) led Korhan Ates (GWU) 7-6, 2-1, unfinished
5. Joe Mills (RU) led Joao Poli (GWU) 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
6. Patrick O'Keffe (RU) def. Brendan Dempsey (GWU) 6-1, 6-2
