SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Anderson men's tennis team dropped a 5-0 decision to conference-foe Lees-McRae in opening round action at the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Southeast Regional Thursday afternoon hosted by Armstrong Atlantic at Savannah's Bacon Park.
Facing the 25th-ranked Bobcats for the third time in 2010, with Lees-McRae (16-5) claiming both prior meetings, 7-2 in the regular season and 5-4 in the Conference Carolinas tournament championship match, Anderson (13-9), ranked 24th nationally, entered the championships having won five of their last seven matches.
The Trojans were blanked on the doubles' side and fell behind early, as the Bobcats' tandem of Shaun Sumner and Marko Zivkovic grabbed an 8-3 win at the No. 3 doubles flight past AU's Daniel Gonzalez and Deni Mehagic, while the Trojans' Renato Assuncao and Ilya Zakharov dropped an identical 8-3 decision to LMC's Steve Karendal and Travis VanHoy at No. 1. The AU duo of Stan Atema and John Karle fell, 8-5, to Alex Hayes and Nandor Solymosi at No. 3 to wrap up the doubles action. Lees-McRae's Sumner opened singles play with a straight-set 6-1, 6-1 victory past Zakharov at No. 2 and Zivkovic lengthened AU's deficit by getting past the freshman Karle, 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 4 slot. Lees-McRae advances to meet top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Armstrong Atlantic on Friday at 10 a.m.
Singles competition 1. Renato Assuncao (AU) vs. #16 Nandor Solymosi (LMC) 4-6, 1-4, unfinished 2. Shaun Sumner (LMC) def. Ilya Zakharov (AU) 6-1, 6-1 3. Stan Atema (AU) vs. Travis VanHoy (LMC) 4-6, 2-1, unfinished 4. Marko Zivkovic (LMC) def. John Karle (AU) 6-3, 6-1 5. Deni Mehagic (AU) vs. Steve Karendal (LMC) 4-6, 6-2, unfinished 6. Daniel Gonzalez (AU) vs. Alex Hayes (LMC) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished Doubles competition 1. Steve Karendal/Travis VanHoy (LMC) def. Renato Assuncao/Ilya Zakharov (AU) 8-3 2. Alex Hayes/Nandor Solymosi (LMC) def. Stan Atema/John Karle (AU) 8-5 3. Shaun Sumner/Marko Zivkovic (LMC) def. Daniel Gonzalez/Deni Mehagic (AU) 8-3
