GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- In a showdown of unbeaten teams within the South Atlantic Conference, Wingate University defeated Tusculum University 5-2 in men's tennis action Tuesday at the Nichols Tennis Complex.

The 23rd-ranked Bulldogs (14-2, 9-0 SAC) won the doubles point and four of the six singles matches against the 30th-ranked Pioneers (13-5, 9-1 SAC), who had their eight-match winning streak come to an end.

The teams split the first two doubles matches, with Wingate's Luka Brown and Hugo Nossler defeating Kenta Kondou and Nathan Matsuguma 6-1 at flight two and Tusculum's Marco Jalalian and Nemanja Subanovic earning a 6-4 victory at flight one over Gabriel Constantino and Edis Nokic.

The flight three match between the Pioneers' Rhodri Atkinson and Frank Bonacia and the Bulldogs' Federico Spinetta and Florian Walcher would go to a tiebreaker, with Wingate winning the final two points for a 7-6 (8-6) victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Tusculum would level the match at 1-1 as Bonacia beat Nossler 6-1, 6-4 at flight four, but Constantino would put Wingate ahead for good as the 58th-ranked player in Division II defeated Subanovic 6-1, 6-4 at flight two. Wingate took a 3-1 lead as Spinetta outlasted Matsuguma 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at flight six.

The Pioneers would stay alive as Kondou earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nokic at flight three, but Brown clinched the win for the Bulldogs as he defeated Ivan Ivars 6-1, 6-2 at flight five. The final match would be between ranked opponents, with 43rd-ranked Walcher defeated 55th-ranked Atkinson 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Tusculum will play its third match in as many days on Wednesday as the Pioneers host Emory & Henry at the Nichols Tennis Complex. The Wasps are 5-12 overall and 1-9 in their first season in the SAC, with their lone league victory a 4-3 win over UVA Wise on April 2.