A three-set victory from Jonas Winkelmann in the final singles
match was the difference as Tusculum College remained unbeaten with
a 5-4 win over Wingate University in a South Atlantic Conference
men's tennis showdown Friday afternoon at the Nichols Tennis
Complex.
Winkelmann trailed by a set and faced two match points before
rallying to force a third and deciding set at number-three singles,
where he finished off a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Filippo Pezzoli and
keep the 49th-ranked Pioneers undefeated at 12-0 overall and 3-0 in
the SAC.
The 48th-ranked Bulldogs (10-4, 4-1 SAC) came back from an early
2-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead with two matches remaining, but the
Pioneers' Toby de Klerk earned a 6-4, 6-3 win at flight six over
Tyler Schofer to set up Winkelmann and Pezzoli with the deciding
match.
Winkelmann, who is the lone senior on the Pioneer roster, trailed
5-4 in the second set and had a pair of match points against him
before rallying to win the last three games and force the third
set. In that set, Winkelmann broke Pezzoli three times, including
the final game which allowed the Pioneers to snap a five-match
losing streak to the Bulldogs that included three defeats in the
SAC Tournament.
Tusculum led 2-0 in doubles as Tashique Kader and Leon Seiz beat
Amir Zari and Duncan Addison 8-5 at flight two, and Eduardo Munoz
teamed with de Klerk to beat Schofer and Pezzoli 8-6 at flight
three. The Bulldogs got their first point at flight one, using a
7-5 tiebreaker to gain the 9-8 win.
In singles, Zari won at flight four to tie the match at 2-2, but
Tim Stierle put the Pioneers back on top 3-2 with a 6-2, 6-0 win
over Sebastian Hall at flight one. Wingate jumped back on top 4-3
as Josh DuToit won at flight five and Connor Kudrick was victorious
at flight two.
The Pioneers will be back in action on Saturday, March 26 when the
team travels to Hartsville, South Carolina to face Coker in a SAC
matchup.
Winkelmann rallies #49 Tusculum to 5-4 win over #48 Wingate
Posted: Mar 18, 2016
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