WINGATE, N.C. - Entering Saturday's match winners of three of its last four following a 7-2 victory over Catawba on Friday, Anderson University men's tennis fell short of an upset bid against nationally-ranked Wingate, 7-2, Saturday afternoon at the WU Tennis Complex.
The loss drops the Trojans to an even 7-7 for the year and 7-2 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs improve to 13-6 overall and a perfect 8-0 for the league.
Against Catawba, AU swept the doubles round with three 8-4 triumphs as the freshmen tandem of Juan Carracedo and Mateo Rivas defeated Catawba's Pierce Hoover and Jack Mordey at the No. 1 slot, while sophomore Paul Michael Calhoun and Danilo Faria knocked off Matthew Nicholson and Michael Patch at the No. 2 position. The sophomore duo of Tomas Passalacqua and Inaki Iriberry closed the doubles round with a win over Iago Montero Nunez and Aaron Vanhorenbeck.
Anderson continued its winning trend in the singles round as Carracedo claimed a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 1, while Calhoun took a 7-5, 6-3 victory at the No. 3 position. At No. 5, Iriberry recorded a 7-5, 6-3 triumph, as Faria cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6.
On Saturday, the Trojans continued their opening round success, winning two-of-three doubles matches. The Calhoun and Faria team notched an 8-4 win over Wingate's pair of Ryan Forbes and Connor Kudrick. Watching Carracedo and Rivas fall at No. 1, Passalacqua and Iriberry got AU back on track with a 9-8 win at No. 3.
Despite the edge heading into the singles round, Anderson was unable to keep up with the Bulldogs, as WU clinched the conference victory with four singles wins. Carracedo earned the first points of the singles round with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over WU's Neal Towlson at the No. 1 position. The triumph is Carracedo's fourth win in his last five matches.
Following the freshman's victory, AU was unable to find another singles win until the match was out of reach when Faria knocked off Josh Eardley at the No. 6 position, 6-1, 6-4.
As the Trojans head down the home stretch of the 2014 regular season, they return to the courts on Wednesday when they hit the road to archrival Erskine. First serve from Due West is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
