CLINTON, S.C.- The Presbyterian College men's tennis team kicked off the 2015 home competition with a 7-0 shutout against The Citadel on Saturday morning and a 5-2 win against Dalton State later in the afternoon at the Templeton Tennis Courts.
PC finished the day at 4-0 and will be on the road for the next six matches, starting in Atlanta on Saturday, Jan. 24 against SCAD Atlanta and Georgia State.
PC 7, Citadel 0
The home-opener started with a 7-0 shutout victory over the Citadel Bulldogs.
The duo of Ben Kelley (Weaverville, N.C.) and Ryan Miller (Norcross, Ga.) took the No. 1 flight for the Blue Hose, 9-8, while Danny Bruce (Marietta, Ga.) and Brandon Mills (Lilburn, Ga.) dominated the No. 3 flight, 8-1, to help PC get the doubles point. The Citadel's No. 2 doubles team held off PC's freshman team of Alexander Lykou (Aarhus, Denmark) and Lukas Luckemeier (Greven, Germany) 8-4 in the second flight of doubles play.
In singles action, Luckemeier kickstarted PC's six wins with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Joe Bove at No. 6 singles. Bruce put PC up 3-0 with a 7-5, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles over Nick Bradley. Kelley won the match at No. 5 singles 6-2, 6-1 to secure the victory for the Blue Hose.
Three matches came down to three sets for the Blue Hose. Lykou came back from a 3-6 opening-set loss to defeat Peter Bleach in No. 2 singles (3-6, 6-1, 6-3). Diego Manzanas (Madrid, Spain) battled back for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles over Artemie Amari, while Mills also fought back from an early deficit to take the No. 4 singles from Oliver Dedding (2-6, 6-4, 6-1).
Singles competition:
1. BRUCE, Danny (PCM) def. BRADLEY, Nick (CIT) 7-5, 6-1
2. LYKOU, Alexander (PCM) def. BLEACH, Peter (CIT) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
3. MANZANAS, Diego (PCM) def. AMARI, Artemie (CIT) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. MILLS, Brandon (PCM) def. DEDDING, Oliver (CIT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. KELLEY, Ben (PCM) def. PRIDE, Jackson (CIT) 6-2, 6-1
6. LUCKEMEIER, Lukas (PCM) def. BOVE, Joe (CIT) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. KELLEY, Ben/MILLER, Ryan (PCM) def. BRADLEY, Nick/BLEACH, Peter (CIT) 9-8
2. AMARI, Artemie/DEDDING, Oliver (CIT) def. LYKOU, Alexander/LUCKEMEIER, Lukas (PCM) 8-4
3. BRUCE, Danny/MILLS, Brandon (PCM) def. PRIDE, Jackson/GRADY, Connor (CIT) 8-1
PC 5, Dalton State 2
PC swept Dalton State in the doubles on duos of Kelley/Miller (8-2), Lykou/Luckemeier (8-4), and Roberts/Mills (8-5) to get PC out to a 1-0 lead over the Roadrunners early in the afternoon.
In singles action, Bruce finished the day undefeated (6-1, 6-2) at No. 1 singles to help lead his team get the win. Manzanas, Luckemeier, and Alejandro Bejar (Madrid, Spain) each swept their matches to help PC earn the 5-2 victory over the Roadrunners.
Singles competition:
1. BRUCE, Danny (PCM) def. BRAY, Joe (DALT) 6-1, 6-2
2. NIKIFOROV, Nikolay (DALT) def. LYKOU, Alexander (PCM) 5-7, 7-6, 10-1
3. HORNBY, Adam (DALT) def. MILLER, Ryan (PCM) 6-7, 7-5, 10-5
4. MANZANAS, Diego (PCM) def. RUDA, Jose (DALT) 6-3, 6-1
5. LUCKEMEIER, Lukas (PCM) def. DARTNELL, Sebastian (DALT) 6-4, 6-2
6. BEJAR, Alejandro (PCM) def. Souza, Lucas de (DALT) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition:
1. KELLEY, Ben/MILLER, Ryan (PCM) def. BRAY, Joe/Souza, Lucas de (DALT) 8-2
2. LYKOU, Alexander/LUCKEMEIER, Lukas (PCM) def. NIKIFOROV, Nikolay/HORNBY, Adam (DALT) 8-4
3. ROBERTS, Joel/MILLS, Brandon (PCM) def. DARTNELL, Sebastian/RUDA, Jose (DALT) 8-5
