CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College men's tennis team dropped a narrow Big South Conference match to Coastal Carolina on Thursday afternoon, 4-3.
PC sees its winning streak snapped at 10 matches and moves to 14-7 on the year and 1-1 in the Big South. The Blue Hose will next take on Gardner-Webb on Monday in Boiling Springs, N.C. at 1:30 p.m. Coastal Carolina improves to 6-5 (3-0 in the Big South) and will play UNC Asheville on the road Friday at 1 p.m.
In a rematch of last year's Big South Conference Championship Semifinal, the dual match once again came down to William O'Connell (Nadi, Fiji) and Yusuke Kusuda at the second flight. O'Connell won the first set, 6-3, before falling in the second, 6-2. The Blue Hose senior took a 5-1 lead in the third before falling, 7-6.
PC won the doubles point to start the day. Andrew Brigham (Birmingham, England) and O'Connell took down Matias Di Pasquale and Garik Yedigarian at the top flight, 8-5, after Rafael Berghaus (Offenbach, Germany) and Grayson Mills (Lilburn, Ga.) knocked off John Karle and Leo Christofides at the second flight, 8-3.
Gonzalo Asis (Madrid, Spain) put PC ahead 2-1 in singles play with a sixth-flight win over Hunter Whalen, 6-3, 6-4. Mills also dispatched Christofides at the top flight for PC's second singles win, 7-5, 6-3.
Unfortunately for the Blue Hose, Coastal Carolina would come out on top with the 4-3 win following singles victories at Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Freshman Danny Bruce (Marietta, Ga.) saw his win streak snapped at 11 matches while O'Connell's came to an end at nine and Berghaus's stopped at eight.
Singles competition
1. MILLS, Grayson (PCM) def. Leo Christofides (COASTAL) 7-5, 6-3
2. Yusuke Kusuda (COASTAL) def. O'CONNELL, William (PCM) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6
3. Garik Yedigarian (COASTAL) def. BRUCE, Danny (PCM) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
4. Matias Di Pasquale (COASTAL) def. BERGHAUS, Rafael (PCM) 6-2, 6-3
5. Ted Nilsson (COASTAL) def. BRIGHAM, Andrew (PCM) 6-1, 6-0
6. ASIS, Gonzalo (PCM) def. Hunter Whalen (COASTAL) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. BRIGHAM, Andrew/O'CONNELL, William (PCM) def. Matias Di Pasquale/Garik Yedigarian (COASTAL) 8-5
2. BERGHAUS, Rafael/MILLS, Grayson (PCM) def. John Karle/Leo Christofides (COASTAL) 8-3
3. Ted Nilsson/Yusuke Kusuda (COASTAL) def. BRUCE, Danny/SNEAD, Edward (PCM) 8-3
