BREVARD, N.C. - After sweeping though the doubles round with three straight victories, Anderson University men's used a pair of singles victories to advance into the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, as the third-seeded Trojans knocked off sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial, 5-0, Thursday afternoon at the Brevard College Tennis Complex.
With the victory, the Black and Gold advances to the semifinals of the SAC Tournament for the first time in two seasons and pick up their first conference tournament victory since claiming the league title in 2010. Anderson moves to 14-4 on the season, while the Railsplitters close their season at 7-8.
The doubles tandem of juniors Paul Michael Calhoun and Inaki Iriberry put the Trojans on the scoreboard first when they tallied an 8-3 triumph over LMU's Carlos Zunino and Guilherme Rocha at the No. 3 position. Following the win, the No. 1 team of sophomores Juan Carracedo and Mateo Rivas fended off Joshua Coulthard and Will Sparks, 8-6, to clinch AU's lead heading into the singles round.
The Black and Gold captured a 3-0 advantage when sophomore Nicolas Ascarrunz and freshman Harrison Kansol defeated LMU's Pepe Batalla and Joshua Peress, 8-4, at the No. 2 position.
Needing just two singles victories to seal the match, Carracedo handed AU its fourth team point of the afternoon with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Sparks at the No. 2 slot. Kansol closed the match and preserved the shutout by cruising 6-0, 6-1 over Zunino at the No. 6 slot for his eight win over a conference opponent this season.
The rest of the singles matches went unfinished as the match ends when the fifth team point is recorded in SAC Tournament play. Ascarrunz and Iriberry both held one-set leads when play was halted.
The Trojans return to the courts on Friday when they take on No. 2 seed Tusculum for a chance to advance to the SAC Tournament championship on Saturday. First serve from the Brevard Tennis Complex is scheduled for 9 a.m.
