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Christian Tihanovich playing his singles match against his Pfeiffer opponent
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Pfeiffer University PFU-M (7-3 (0-1 USA South))
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Winner Methodist University MUMTN (7-2 (2-0 USA South))
Pfeiffer University PFU-M
(7-3 (0-1 USA South))
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Final
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Methodist University MUMTN
(7-2 (2-0 USA South))
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Michael Spratt

Methodist Secures a Thrilling Victory Over Pfeiffer

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  On Friday, the Methodist University men's tennis team picked up a thrilling USA South victory, 5–2, against visiting Pfeiffer University, snapping a three-match losing streak.  

JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Methodist def. Pfeiffer 5–2
Records: Methodist 7–2 (2-0 USA South); Pfeiffer 7–3 (0-1)
Location: Gene Clayton Tennis Center; Fayetteville, North Carolina

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • In doubles, the Monarch pair of Matthew Hurley and Decklan Rayner quickly overpowered their Falcon opponents, Jayden Wellman and Andres Valdez-Arze, defeating them 6-1 on court two. A 6-4 victory in No. 3 doubles by Drew Guarnieri and Ethan Carlyle, who overcame Pfeiffer's Laurin Rauer and Aissultan Mukhambetov, secured a 1–0 match lead for Methodist. The Monarchs nearly achieved the sweep, but the No. 1 duo of Wills Belser and Harry Crokam narrowly lost 5-7 to Benedikt Pfeiffer and Mathius Dessureau of the Falcons.
  • Hurley (No. 1) and Guarnieri (No. 6) began singles play by winning their respective flights with identical set scores of 6-1, 6-4. Hurley faced Pfeiffer, while Guarnieri was matched against Justin Giesbrecht, giving Methodist a 3–0 lead in the overall match. On the fourth court, Carlyle dropped his opening set 2-6 but fought back to take the second set 6-3, forcing a third set against his opponent, Mukhambetov. In the last set, Mukhambetov came out on top 6-2 and claimed the first point for the Falcons.
  • Clinching the match for the Monarchs was Christian Tihanovich in No. 5 singles. After winning the first set 6-3, he came from behind in the second set and got the dub in the tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4).
  • The final two flights for Methodist, Belser on court two and Crokam on court three, each required an extra set to determine a victor. Crokam was the first to finish following three competitive sets, losing to Wellman 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 1-0 (10-7). After dropping the first set 4-6, Belser defeated Dessureau 6-2, 6-4 in the second and third sets.
UP NEXT
The next match for Methodist is at Montreat College on Saturday, March 29, with the contest scheduled to begin at 1 PM.
    
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