CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College men's tennis team delivered an instant classic on Friday's Senior Day, knocking off visiting Winthrop by a 4-3 margin in a match that saw three three-set results and lasted four and a half hours.
PC wins its third straight match to improve to 18-9 on the year and 5-3 in the Big South. Winthrop slips to 9-11 and 5-2 in league action. The Blue Hose finish the regular season on Sunday on the road against Charlotte at 1 p.m.
With the dual match tied 3-3, Grayson Mills (Lilburn, Ga.) battled back from three match points against Dylan Comerford at the top flight to pull out a 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 victory to hand PC the match. The result marked Mills's fourth of the season in league competition at No. 1.
Rafael Berghaus (Offenbach, Germany) also came through with a crucial fourth-flight victory over Juan Boada. The junior topped the Eagle in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 thriller. Danny Bruce (Marietta, Ga.) cruised past Yuta Hirokawa in straight sets at No. 3, 6-1, 6-1.
Gonzalo Asis (Madrid, Spain) picked up his team-leading 20th win of the season in a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Michael Chen at the sixth flight. Asis also finished the Big South season at 8-0 on the campaign.
Winthrop won the doubles point despite an 8-6 win at the second flight from Berghaus and Mills, the pair's 15th together and fifth in league action.
William O'Connell (Nadi, Fiji) suffered a close loss at No. 3, falling to Ivar Aramburu, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Prior to the match, PC honored seniors Andrew Brigham (Birmingham, England), Edward Snead IV (Greenwood, S.C.) and O'Connell. The trio combined for 77 singles wins and 104 doubles wins together.
Singles competition
1. MILLS, Grayson (PCM) def. COMERFORD, Dylan (WUMT) 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
2. ARAMBURU, Ivar (WUMT) def. O'CONNELL, William (PCM) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
3. BRUCE, Danny (PCM) def. HIROKAWA, Yuta (WUMT) 6-1, 6-1
4. BERGHAUS, Rafael (PCM) def. BOADA, Juan (WUMT) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. NAGOVNAK, Peter (WUMT) def. BRIGHAM, Andrew (PCM) 6-3, 6-2
6. ASIS, Gonzalo (PCM) def. CHEN, Michael (WUMT) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. NAGOVNAK, Peter/COMERFORD, Dylan (WUMT) def. BRIGHAM, Andrew/O'CONNELL, William (PCM) 8-6
2. BERGHAUS, Rafael/MILLS, Grayson (PCM) def. PATRICK, Steven/HIROKAWA, Yuta (WUMT) 8-6
3. DECANDIA, Corey/BOADA, Juan (WUMT) def. BRUCE, Danny/SNEAD, Edward (PCM) 8-6
