BREVARD, N.C. - Unable to bounce back after suffering a pair of setbacks in the doubles portion, third-seeded Anderson University men's tennis fell to second-seeded Tusculum, 5-2, in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Friday at the McCoy Tennis Complex on the campus of Brevard College.
With the setback, the Trojans close their SAC Tournament campaign with a 14-5 overall record and drop their second match to the Pioneers this season. On the opposite side, TC advances to the conference title match on Saturday for the second straight season and improves to 18-1 for the year.
After falling at the No. 2 doubles position to open up the match, the Trojan doubles pair of juniors Paul Michael Calhoun and Inaki Iriberry notched an 8-6 victory over Tusculum's Joseph Elphingstone and David Sledge for their second doubles win of the tournament. For the duo, the win was their 10th of the season, as they became the first AU doubles team to win 10 matches on the year.
Unable to feed off the momentum from the win at No. 3, Anderson dropped an 8-5 decision at No. 1 doubles, as the Pioneers took a narrow 2-1 lead into the singles portion. The 2-1 deficit matched the score following the doubles round when the teams locked up during the regular season on March 7.
Anderson jumped back into the match when freshman Harrison Kansol claimed his second straight singles tournament win at No. 6 with a 6-1, 6-0 rout over Pioneer Toby de Klerk. The triumph was Kansol's 12th of the season, while claiming his 10th win over a SAC opponent for the campaign.
Kansol was the lone bright spot in the Black and Gold's singles lineup, as Tusculum closed the match with straight-set wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 to claim the victory. Calhoun and Iriberry were not able to complete their matches at No. and No. 5, respectively.
The Trojans will await their NCAA Tournament fate in two weeks, as they look to move back into the Southeast Regional Rankings, after being slotted 10th in the first of three rankings two weeks ago. The Black and Gold looks to return to the national tournament for the first time since the 2011 season. The NCAA Men's Tennis Selection Show is scheduled for April 28 at 8 p.m.
