GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Marco Meon rallied for a three-set win in the final singles match as Tusculum University held on for a 4-3 victory over Lee University in non-conference men's tennis action Wednesday afternoon at the Nichols Tennis Complex.
Meon defeated Bruno Medeiros 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to give the Pioneers (4-2) the win over the Flames (4-2) in a match that took 5 1/2 hours to complete and was finished under the lights after beginning in bright sunshine and warm temperatures.
The Flames trailed 3-1 after the Pioneers won the first three singles matches, but Antonio Pons came from a set down for a victory at flight four and Cristian Pons had a straight-set win at flight five to set up the flight six match between Meon and Medeiros for the win.
Lee won the doubles point as Cristian Pons teamed with Jesus Garcia for a 7-6 (8-6) win over Manuel Guedes de Almeida and Gabriel Yaguar at flight two in the final match. Lee and Tusculum split the first two doubles contests that concluded, with the Pioneers' Yago Fernandez and Jacco Mensinga winning 6-1 over Antonio Pons and Daniel Prata at flight three.
In singles, Fernandez dispatched Jake Okines 6-2, 6-1 at flight one to tie the match at one point apiece. Almeida came back to beat Garcia 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 for a 2-1 Tusculum lead at flight two, and Vadzim Raitsou came back for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win at flight three over Prata to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead.
Antonio Pons pulled off a rally of his own at flight four, beating Yaguar 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-4 to cut the Tusculum advantage to 3-2, and Cristian Pons defeated Tim Klee 7-5, 6-1 to lock up the match and force Meon and Medeiros into the decider.
Tusculum will open its South Atlantic Conference schedule on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Anderson at the Nichols Tennis Complex.
