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.