ROCK HILL, S.C. – With the final three courts decided within moments of each other, No. 1 seed Winthrop men's tennis (13-8, 7-0 Big South Conference) was edged 4-3 by No. 2 Campbell (17-5, 6-1 Big South Conference) in the championship final of the Big South Men's Tennis Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Rock Hill Tennis Center. It was the Eagles' first appearance in the championship final since 2015.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Eagles were unable to score the doubles point for just the second time all season against a conference opponent, last losing two doubles courts in the league on the road at Gardner-Webb on Mar. 3.
 
-Diego Quiroz would get Winthrop on the board quickly though, with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at the No. 1 position.
 
-The Camels answered with a quick straight-set victory of their own at No. 4 to move ahead 2-1.
 
-Gabriel Dias won his third-consecutive straight-set victory and eighth-consecutive match overall at No. 5 to even the team score again at 2-2. Dias was tied at 4-4 in both sets but would win two straight games to win 6-4, 6-4. In the second set, Dias went up 5-4 on a break, and held serve in a 40-30 game for the win.
 
-On courts two, three and six, all three Eagles dropped their first sets, but turned around the second sets to force final third sets. The third sets were drawing to conclusion nearly simultaneously, leading to tense final moments in the championship match.
 
-At court three, Connor Williamson fell 6-4 in the first, but bounced back for a dominant 6-0 second set victory. In the third set, Williamson went up 5-4 on serve, but Campbell's Ondrej Labik forced a set tiebreak at 6-6. With Williamson leading the tiebreak 6-5, by rule the umpire assessed a game penalty to Winthrop for the fourth time he had overruled Williamson on a line call, ending the match in Campbell's favor and a 3-2 team score lead.
 
-Moments later, senior Tremayne Mitchell evened the score at 3-3 with a victory in his third set. After falling 6-1 in the first, Mitchell battled back for a 6-3 win in the second and came from behind 1-3 in the third to tie the match at 5-5 on serve. Mitchell went ahead 6-5 with a break and delivered the 7-5 set win and match on serve. Mitchell finished the season with a remarkable 8-1 record in three-set matches.
 
-Nearly simultaneously, court six, and now the match, was also being decided in a third set tiebreaker. After falling 7-5 in the first, senior Joshua Ryan turned around a huge 6-0 second set to force a third set. Tied at 5-5, Ryan and Campbell's Ted Williams would trade serve games to once again be tied at 6-6 and head to a tiebreaker. Just minutes after Mitchell's win, as all eyes shifted to No. 6 for the decision, Williams would pull ahead for a 7-5 tiebreaker victory and secure the match for Campbell.
 
 NOTABLES
-Winthrop ends the season 13-8 overall and with its first undefeated conference season and regular season Big South championship since 2011.

-Winthrop handed Campbell its only regular season conference loss, a 6-1 Eagles win on Sun., Mar. 25.

FULL RESULTS
Singles
1. QUIROZ, Diego (WIN) def. SCHWAB, Lorenz (CAM) 6-1, 6-1
2. MITCHELL, Tremayne (WIN) def. WERNER, Dustin (CAM) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. LABIK, Ondrej (CAM) def. WILLIAMSON, Connor (WIN) 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (5-6)
4. SCHAEFER, Lukas (CAM) def. PAPPAYIANNIS, L. (WIN) 6-1, 6-0
5. DIAS, Gabriel (WIN) def. SOLA, Gerard (CAM) 6-4, 6-4
6. WILLIAMS, Ted (CAM) def. RYAN, Joshua (WIN) 7-5, 0-6, 7-6 (7-5)

Doubles
1. QUIROZ, Diego/MITCHELL, Tremayne (WIN) vs. WERNER, Dustin/SCHWAB, Lorenz (CAM) 5-4, unfinished
2. SOLA, Gerard/O'NEAL, Jonathan (CAM) def. DIAS, Gabriel/RYAN, Joshua (WIN) 6-4
3. MONTEROSSO, Louis/SCHAEFER, Lukas (CAM) def. WILLIAMSON, Connor/GOKHALE, Aditya


BIG SOUTH MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, April 16 – Quarterfinals
Match 1:  No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 8 Radford, 8 a.m. – Winthrop, 4-0
Match 2:  No. 4 Liberty vs. No. 5 Longwood, 11 a.m. – Longwood, 4-3
Match 3:  No. 2 Campbell vs. No. 7 UNC Asheville, 2 p.m. – Campbell, 4-1
Match 4:  No. 3 Presbyterian vs. No. 6 Gardner-Webb, 5 p.m. – Gardner-Webb, 4-3
 
Tuesday, April 17 – Semifinals
Match 5:  No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 5 Longwood, 10 a.m. –Winthrop, 4-3
Match 6:  No. 2 Campbell vs. No. 6 Gardner-Webb, 2 p.m. – Campbell, 4-1
 
Wednesday, April 18 – Championship 
Match 7:  No. 1 Winthrop vs. No. 2 Campbell, 2 p.m. – Campbell, 4-3