ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Presbyterian College men's tennis team made history on Thursday afternoon with a dramatic 4-3 win at Winthrop, giving the Blue Hose the 2014 Big South Conference regular season championship—the school's first since joining the League in 2008-09.
PC ends the regular season at 24-6 and 7-1 in the Big South, both school Division I records. The Blue Hose will take the No. 1 seed into next week's Musco Lighting Big South Conference Championship at Gardner-Webb. Winthrop moves to 12-9 overall and 5-2 in the Big South and will play Campbell on Saturday.
"This is a great step for our program and school," said head coach Adam Herendeen. "It's not where we want to be and we have a lot of work to do before next week, but this is a testament to how we played together today. There are so many people to thank, from alumni to staff. This championship belongs to everyone who has worked to help us get where we are and where we want to be."
Trailing 3-2 with two matches to go, the Blue Hose earned victories in both at No. 1 and No. 2. In a deliberate, workmanlike match at the top flight, senior Grayson Mills (Lilburn, Ga.) tied the dual match at 3-3 with a decisive 6-4, 6-2 win over Yuta Hirokawa. The result marked Mills's 22nd of the year (another PC Division I record) and improved his Big South record to a League-best 7-1.
All attention then turned to court No. 2 between Danny Bruce (Marietta, Ga.) and Steven Patrick. The PC sophomore fended off a battling Eagle and sewed up the match in the second set with a 6-3, 7-6 decision, bringing cheering Blue Hose players over the fence to celebrate the school's first Big South regular season title.
PC swept all three doubles matches to go up 1-0 first. Rafael Berghaus (Offenbach, Germany) and Joel Roberts (Summerville, S.C.) made quick work of Peter Nagovnak and Dylan Comerford at the top flight in an 8-3 win before a pair of 8-7 wins at the second and third flights. At No. 2, Ryan Miller (Norcross, Ga.) and Ben Kelley (Weaverville, N.C.) bested Patrick and Tremayne Mitchell while the No. 3 pairing of Mills and Diego Manzanas (Madrid, Spain) edged Juan Pablo Boada and Corey Decandia.
Winthrop went up 2-1 following wins at the fourth and third flights to start singles play. Mitchell won over Kelley at No. 4 in a 6-0, 6-1 decision while Comerford handed Roberts a 6-2, 6-2 loss at No. 3.
Gonzalo Asis (Madrid, Spain) pulled PC even at the sixth flight. The senior dispatched Michael Chen in straight sets for a crucial 6-4, 6-4 victory. Winthrop then grabbed its final win at No. 5 with a 6-2, 6-4 Boada victory over Manzanas to set the table for the thrilling final two matches.
Singles competition
1. MILLS, Grayson (PCM) def. HIROKAWA, Yuta (WUM) 6-4, 6-2
2. BRUCE, Danny (PCM) def. PATRICK, Steven (WUM) 6-3, 7-6\
3. COMERFORD, Dylan (WUM) def. ROBERTS, Joel (PCM) 6-2, 6-2
4. MITCHELL, Tremayne (WUM) def. KELLEY, Ben (PCM) 6-0, 6-1
5. BOADA, Juan Pablo (WUM) def. MANZANAS, Diego (PCM) 6-2, 6-4
6. ASIS, Gonzalo (PCM) def. CHEN, Michael (WUM) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. BERGHAUS, Rafael/ROBERTS, Joel (PCM) def. NAGOVNAK, Peter/COMERFORD, Dylan (WUM) 8-3
2. MILLER, Ryan/KELLEY, Ben (PCM) def. PATRICK, Steven/MITCHELL, Tremayne (WUM) 8-7
3. MILLS, Grayson/MANZANAS, Diego (PCM) def. BOADA, Juan Pablo/DECANDIA, Corey (WUM) 8-7
