ANDERSON, S.C. - After splitting its two matches last week, highlighted by a 9-0 blanking over South Atlantic Conference opponent Brevard on Thursday, Anderson University men's tennis prepares for another conference showdown with league newcomer Queens on Tuesday. First serve from Freedom Park is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The Trojans
With a setback to Peach Belt Conference rival GRU Augusta
on Friday afternoon, AU dropped to 4-5 overall and snapped a
three-match winning streak. Despite the under .500 mark for the
year, the Trojans are slotted third in the SAC standings, as every
team is chasing undefeated Wingate, which sits atop of the
standings with a 5-0 record.
Freshman Mateo Rivas was the lone Trojan to post a win against the Jaguars on Friday, earning a hard-fought three-set victory over Romain Brunie, 6-2, 2-6, 10-6 at the No. 3 position. Since moving to the No. 3 spot after the Tusculum match in late February, Rivas has grabbed three straight victories including two over SAC opponents.
In doubles, the sophomore team of Inaki Iriberry and Tomas Passalacqua are 5-4 on the season, but had their four-match winning streak snapped on Saturday by GRU Augusta.
The Royals
Queens began the 2014 campaign with six straight wins, but
enter Tuesday's matchup on a three-match losing streak with
setbacks to SAC foes Wingate (7-2) and Coker (6-3) and a
nonconference loss to Methodist (5-4). With the 6-3 overall record,
the Royals hold an even 2-2 mark in their first season as SAC
members.
Most recently, Queens dropped a 6-3 decision to regionally-ranked Coker on Friday, after taking two-of-three in the doubles round. The duo of Andre Bafume and Ole-Jacob Meum claimed an 8-4 victory at the No. 2 position, while Will Roberson and Ignacio Casali tallied an 8-3 win at the No. 3 spot.
With the lead heading into the singles round, the Royals managed just one singles win as Zachary Williams, who played at the No. 6 position, cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Two other Royals fell in three sets in a match that lasted over five hours.
The Series
Anderson and Queens rekindle their Conference Carolinas
rivalry for the first time since 2010, as the Royals captured a 7-2
win over the Trojans in the teams' last meeting on Feb. 10,
2010.
