HICKORY, N.C. --- Tusculum University needed three days to extend its winning streak to six matches, as the Pioneers finished off Lenoir-Rhyne University 6-1 in South Atlantic Conference men's tennis action Sunday afternoon.

The match began Friday afternoon and saw the 27th-ranked Pioneers (11-4, 7-0 SAC) take a 1-0 lead in doubles before rain put action on hold midway through singles. On Sunday, the Pioneers finished off two of the three interrupted singles matches and then swept the three remaining matches from the Bears (6-12, 4-4 SAC).

Tusculum swept the doubles action to earn the team point during Friday's play, capped by an epic 7-6 (13-11) win at flight one by Nemanja Subanovic and Marco Jalalian over Zachary Cox and Vadym Rogynskyi. In the other doubles contests, Rhodri Atkinson and Frank Bonacia defeated Mattias Selde and Joel Hemmings 6-2 at flight three, while Kenta Kondou and Nathan Matsuguma beat Rufus Plane and Mauricio Hernandez 7-5 at flight two.

In singles, Atkinson's match at flight one against Cox was stopped on Friday with Atkinson two points shy of victory, which he got on Sunday to pick up the 6-4, 6-3 win. After the Bears finished off a win at flight five to pull within 2-1, Kondou completed a rally from a set down to beat Patrik Alvestrand 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to put the Pioneers up 3-1.

Subanovic delivered the clinching point for the Pioneers as he beat Rogynskyi 6-2, 6-2 at flight two. Also winning for the Pioneers were Matsuguma, who beat Connor Gibson 8-1 in a pro set at flight six, along with Bonacia who outlasted Plane 7-5, 6-7 (7-5), (10-5) at flight four.

The Pioneers will play at Anderson on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in a match that was rescheduled from March 3 due to bad weather. The Trojans are ranked 33rd in Division II this week and went to 12-1 overall and 8-1 in the SAC with a 7-0 win at UVA Wise on Saturday. Anderson's lone loss was a 6-1 setback to Carson-Newman on March 18.