ANDERSON, S.C. - Headlined by a perfect singles round, Anderson University men's tennis cruised to an 8-1 victory over South Atlantic Conference foe Mars Hill Saturday afternoon at Max Grubbs Memorial Courts.
The win moves the Trojans to 3-1 in conference play, while Mars Hill drops to 3-5 on the season and 1-2 in the league. AU has now won two straight matches, dating back to a hard-fought 5-4 win over Tusculum last Sunday.
After the sophomore tandem of Tomas Passalacqua and Inaki Iriberry captured an 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles, the freshmen team of Juan Carracedo and Mateo Rivas gave AU a 2-1 advantage heading into the singles round with a 9-8 (7-5) victory at the No. 1 position.
The Black and Gold continued their winning trend in singles, as five Trojans won in straight sets. Passalacqua snapped a three-match losing skid and knocked off MHU's Joel Sturgis 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, while Rivas defeated Alberto Ortiz, 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 position for his first collegiate singles win.
Sophomore Paul Michael Calhoun added his third straight win with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Sam Lee at No. 4, while Iriberry tallied a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Blake Covington at the No. 5 spot, improving to 4-3 for the year.
At No. 6, senior Danilo Faria defeated Marcus Gattner 6-3, 6-0 for his third straight win, while Carracedo earned Anderson's only three-set win on the afternoon, defeating Euquerio Guerrero 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 at the No. 1 position. For Carracedo, the win was his first for his collegiate career.
Anderson returns to action on Tuesday when it welcomes Lincoln Memorial to the Upstate. First serve from Max Grubbs Memorial Courts is slated for 2 p.m.
