GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's tennis team will play Lenoir-Rhyne University in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament on Thursday, April 20 at 2 p.m. at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
The Pioneers (15-5, 11-1 SAC) are the number-two seed in the tournament after finishing second in the SAC regular season standings behind Wingate. Lenoir-Rhyne (8-14, 6-6 SAC) is seeded seventh and enters the SAC Tournament coming off back-to-back 7-0 losses to Wingate and Lincoln Memorial in the final week of the regular season.
Thursday's winner will move to the semifinals on Friday, April 21 at 2 p.m. against the winner of the match between sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial and third-seeded Carson-Newman. The championship match will be played Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m. at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
The Pioneers were seeded fifth in last year's tournament and beat the Bears 4-1 in the quarterfinals before falling 4-2 to Queens in the semifinal round.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Graduate student Rhodri Atkinson (Longhope, England), a former SAC Player of the Year while an undergraduate at Lenoir-Rhyne, has gone 16-8 overall this season for the Pioneers primarily at flight one, with a 13-6 record in dual matches and a 7-4 conference record.
Junior Nemanja Subanovic (Subotica, Serbia) has compiled a 14-9 overall record and is 12-8 in dual matches, which includes an 8-7 mark at flight two. Subanovic went 8-3 in conference play and has a 2-3 record in three-set matches, although 10 of his last 11 matches have been decided in straight sets (6-4).
Graduate student Kenta Kondou (Saitama, Japan) leads the Pioneers in victories with an 18-6 overall record and a 17-3 dual match mark. Kondou is 12-3 at flight three and 9-2 in SAC competition, and has a six-match winning streak.
Graduate student Frank Bonacia (Rome, Italy) has gone undefeated since returning to action in early March, going 8-0 in dual matches and 7-0 in conference play, all at flight four. Bonacia is 57-22 in his Tusculum career.
Junior Ivan Ivars (Alicante, Spain) has played primarily at flight five during conference play, ending with an 8-3 conference record and a 10-7 overall mark. Ivars won his only three-set match of the season, which came last Wednesday against Emory & Henry.
Sophomore Nathan Matsuguma (Tokyo, Japan) was 10-2 in conference action for the Pioneers and is 12-8 in dual matches this season, which includes a 6-1 record at flight six. Matsuguma played six super tiebreakers during the season with a 2-4 record, then finished the season with 10 wins in his last 11 matches (eight straight sets, three pro sets).
In doubles, Subanovic and sophomore Marco Jalalian (Hannover, Germany) went 10-7 at flight one and 8-2 in conference action, while Kondou and Matsuguma were 4-4 at flight two and 10-6 overall, with a 7-3 league mark. At flight three, Atkinson and Bonacia have teamed up for a 4-1 record.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Lenoir-Rhyne did not have more than six wins at any of the six singles flights in conference play. Zachary Cox had a 7-13 record for the Bears and was 5-13 at flight one, with a 4-7 league mark, while Vadym Rogynskyi had a team-best 8-11 record and went 5-5 in conference action.
At flight three, Patrik Alvestrand was 7-10 overall and 4-6 in SAC play, while Rufus Plane turned in a 4-5 record at flight four. Mauricio Hernandez had a 3-10 record and was 2-3 in conference matches, while Joel Hemmings (6-11, 4-4 SAC) and Mattias Selde (6-6, 4-2 SAC) also played at the bottom of the Lenoir-Rhyne singles lineup.
In doubles action, Cox and Rogynskyi were 7-9 at flight one and 5-6 in conference, while Plane and Hernandez teamed for a 5-2 SAC record at flight two. At flight three, Selde and Connor Gibson went 6-3 and had a 2-2 record in conference competition, while Selde and Hemmings were 3-2 in league play.
SERIES HISTORY
Tusculum earned a 6-1 victory at Lenoir-Rhyne in a match that was suspended March 31 due to rain following doubles play, and completed on April 2. The Pioneers are 15-2 all-time against the Bears, with two victories coming in SAC quarterfinal play (2008, 2022).
SAC TOURNAMENT
The 2023 South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Championship will be played at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, S.C. beginning with quarterfinals on Thursday, followed by semifinals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:
Thursday, April 20 (quarterfinals)
Match 1: #8 Newberry vs. #1 Wingate, 2 p.m.
Match 2: #5 Limestone vs. #4 Anderson, 2 p.m.
Match 3: #7 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. #2 Tusculum, 2 p.m.
Match 4: #6 Lincoln Memorial vs. #3 Carson-Newman, 2 p.m.
Friday, April 21 (semifinals)
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 2 p.m.
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 22 (finals)
Match 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 2 p.m.
