RADFORD, VA – In a dramatic 4-3 match, the Winthrop men's tennis team captured the 2010 Big South Tennis Championship as it defeated the no. 1 seed Radford Highlanders in Radford, VA.
With the win, Winthrop improves to 13-11 on the season and guarantees a spot in the 2010 NCAA Tennis Championships.
The Eagles started behind as it lost the doubles point. In the no. 1 doubles match, Daniel Daudt and Sergey Belov dropped to Ivan Salec and Thomas Dehaen 8-6, while Nadav Ruppin and Guy Kubi lost to Paul Boslet and Zack Watson also 8-6 in the no. 2 doubles match.
In singles play, Winthrop's Dejon Bivens gave the Eagles their first point as he beat Boslet 6-2, 6-4 in the no. 4 singles match. The Highlanders responded in the no. 1 spot as no. 80 in the nation Salec defeated Belov 7-5, 6-3. The Eagles tied up the match 2-2 as WU's Kubi came back from one set down to beat Watson 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the no. 5 singles match. Radford gained the 3-2 lead with the no. 6 singles match as RU's Erik Finkenbrink defeated Daudt 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Winthrop's Liran Levy came back from one set down to tie the match again at 3-3. Levy defeated Igor Ogrizek 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. The clincher came with Ruppin at the no. 2 spot as he defeated Dehaen in three sets. Ruppin came back from 3-1 down in the third set to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
"It's been an incredible weekend. The guys came back from match point down in the semi-finals, and today again Kubi was a match point down and came back to keep the match alive. Dejon and Levy also played incredibly well by winning their match. Nadav clinched the match for the second day in a row, wining a very tough match in the third set to give us the title," head coach Cid Carvalho said. "I'm very proud of the guys. I'm very proud of the team."
In the past five Big South Championships, Winthrop faced Radford in the finals and won two of them. This year's victory was the first in four years.
The Eagles will be back in action in May as they play the NCAA Tennis Championships. For more information on the NCAA tournament, check winthropeagles.com soon.
