CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College men's tennis team battled Appalachian State on Tuesday afternoon and fell to the Mountaineers, 6-1. The squad celebrated the career of senior Zachary Sprouse (Hilton Head, S.C.) in the player's final match at Templeton Tennis Courts.
PC moves to 11-12 on the year while Appalachian State improves to 11-6.
Prior to the match, the Blue Hose swapped stories about Sprouse, discussed his career and presented him with gifts from his PC teammates. The senior will leave PC as the program's leader in both Division I singles (now at 33) and doubles victories (37).
Appalachian State took the doubles point to begin the match, but not without a fight from the Blue Hose. Doubles action began as the Mountaineers won the No. 3 match with Zeke Sansing and Steve Karendal holding off Edward Snead IV (Greenwood, S.C.) and Sprouse, 8-5.
PC answered at the top flight to even the score. Grayson Mills (Lilburn, Ga.) and Rafael Berghaus (Offenbach, Germany) outlasted Sebastien King and Philip Kloc in a 8-6 marathon win.
The point came down to the second-flight matchup between PC's William O'Connell (Nadi, Fiji) and Andrew Brigham (Birmingham, England) and Appalachian State's Alex Markov and Alain Humblet. The Blue Hose came close but fell short by the slimmest of margins, 9-8.
In singles play, Gonzalo Asis (Madrid, Spain) earned the team's lone win with a decision in straight sets over Matt Saltsgaver at the sixth flight, 6-1, 6-1.
Brigham took on King at No. 4 and gave the Mountaineer a battle, falling by a 7-5, 7-6 margin. O'Connell nearly took a set from Humblet at the third flight before coming up short, 6-4, 7-6.
In another close first set, Nathan Crocker (Clinton, S.C.) took on Karendal but fell, 7-5, 6-0.
At No. 2, Sprouse stumbled against Kloc, 6-1, 6-2, while Berghaus dropped a top-flight set to Markov, 6-2, 6-2.
PC travels to Campbell on Thursday for a 2 p.m. matchup against the Camels in Buies Creek, N.C.
Singles competition
1. Alex Markov (ASU) def. BERGHAUS, Rafael (PCM) 6-2, 6-2
2. Philip Kloc (ASU) def. SPROUSE, Zachary (PCM) 6-1, 6-2
3. Alain Humblet (ASU) def. O'CONNELL, William (PCM) 6-4, 7-6
4. Sebastien King (ASU) def. BRIGHAM, Andrew (PCM) 7-5, 7-6
5. Steve Karendal (ASU) def. CROCKER, Nathan (PCM) 7-5, 6-0
6. ASIS, Gonzalo (PCM) def. Matt Saltsgaver (ASU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. MILLS, Grayson/BERGHAUS, Rafael (PCM) def. Sebastien King/Philip Kloc (ASU) 8-6
2. Alex Markov/Alain Humblet (ASU) def. O'CONNELL, William/BRIGHAM, Andrew (PCM) 9-8
3. Zeke Sansing/Steve Karendal (ASU) def. SNEAD, Edward/SPROUSE, Zachary (PCM) 8-5
