ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop men's tennis (11-7, 7-0 Big South Conference) completed the regular season with a 4-3 win over Presbyterian (9-13, 4-3 Big South Conference) Thursday afternoon. With the win, Winthrop finishes Big South league play undefeated, claiming the regular season championship outright. Seven league wins marks the most for the program since the 2014 squad went 6-2 in league play and it's the best record since the 2011 team finished the regular season 6-0 in league play and 16-6 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Eagles took the doubles point for the 10^th time this season, taking two of three courts. Connor Williamson and Aditya Gokhale sparked the day with a 6-1 victory on court three.

-Tremayne Mitchell and Diego Quiroz improved to 5-0 in Big South play with a 6-3 victory at court one.

-In singles play, PC got on the board with a victory at No. 3, but the Eagles would pull back on top with a straight-set win at No. 5 as Gabriel Dias stayed undefeated in Big South play. Dias was down 4-5 in the first set, but tied it up at 5-5 on serve and won two more straight games with a big break to take the set 7-5. He would carry the momentum into the second set for a decisive 6-2.

-Mitchell would push the Winthrop lead to 3-1 with a dramatic straight-set win at No. 2. Mitchell and PC's Brandon Mills were never separated by more than a game in the first set, which Mitchell pushed to a 6-6 tie on serve and would push through for the set tiebreak win. The closely fought match continued in the second set, with Mitchell up 5-4, but Mills would tie it up again at 5-5 on serve. Mitchell went up 6-5 with a hold of his own, and came up with a well-timed break in the next game to take the set 7-5.

-With only one more point needed to clinch team victory, senior Joshua Ryan was in the midst of a deciding third set. Ryan was up 5-4, but PC's Luis Conde battled back for a 5-5 tie on serve. Ryan held to go up 6-5 and then took a 7-5 win on a break on a deuce point to clinch the match.

-With team victory assured, Quiroz suffered just his second conference loss of the season, a tough three-set battle, including a marathon first-set tiebreaker.

-PC would get its third point in another lengthy three-setter at No. 4. After dropping the first set, Leandros Pappayiannis came back from down 4-5 in the second set to win a tiebreaker 7-6 to force a third set. He would find himself quickly down 1-5, but was not done battling. The junior made a dramatic comeback to tie the match at 5-5, but PC's Jaime Castillo-Lopez would come out on top 7-5 to take the match.

NOTABLES
-Despite suffering their first loss of the season, doubles duo Dias and Ryan still boast the best record in the Big South Conference at 10-1.

-Gabriel Dias finishes the regular season undefeated in conference play at 6-0 and is also on a six-match winning streak.

-Tremayne Mitchell has won 11 of his last 12 matches, and has climbed the ladder to play his last six matches at the No. 2 position. His team-leading 14-4 overall record is good for the fourth-best winning percentage in the Big South Conference (.778) and he owns a 6-1 record in league play.

-Since dropping a tough 6-0 loss to Ga. Southern on Feb. 25, Winthrop has bounced back to win 10 of 12 matches, including its 7-0 league record. 
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles have completed the regular season and turn their sights to the Big South Championship Tournament, starting Monday. As the No. 1 seed, the Eagles are currently scheduled to begin tournament play at 8 a.m. on Monday morning against the No. 8 seed. The Big South Conference office will make an official announcement with the full bracket and match times once all teams have completed their regular season matches this weeknd.

FULL RESULTS

Singles
1. Alexander Lykou (PC) def. QUIROZ, Diego (WIN) 7-6, 3-6, 6-3
2. MITCHELL, Tremayne (WIN) def. Brandon Mills (PC) 7-6, 7-5
3. Alejandro Bejar (PC) def. WILLIAMSON, Connor (WIN) 6-3, 6-4
4. Jaime Castillo-Lopez (PC) def. PAPPAYIANNIS, L. (WIN) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
5. DIAS, Gabriel (WIN) def. Daniel Stenger (PC) 7-5, 6-2
6. RYAN, Joshua (WIN) def. Luis Conde (PC) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5

Doubles
1. QUIROZ, Diego/MITCHELL, Tremayne (WIN) def. Alexander Lykou/Brandon Mills (PC) 6-3
2. Jaime Castillo-Lopez/Alejandro Bejar (PC) def. DIAS, Gabriel/RYAN, Joshua (WIN) 7-5
3. WILLIAMSON, Connor/GOKHALE, Aditya (WIN) def. Daniel Stenger/Will Baird (PC) 6-1                                                                                                                                           
 
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Mark your calendars - Winthrop is hosting the Big South Conference Championship in men's and women's tennis April 16-21 at Rock Hill Tennis Center. More information on match times will be available soon after the full bracket is released by the conference office.