Feb. 18, 2012

Final Stats

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman won the doubles point and a pair of straight set singles matches on its way to posting a 4-1 victory over the Navy men's tennis team Saturday afternoon at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.

The doubles point between the Mids (7-3) and the Paladins (1-6) went right down to the wire. Furman's No. 2 tandem of Alex Christ and Joel Cook, which is ranked 49th nationally, won the first match of the day, an 8-2 decision over Marcus Rebersak (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Anderson Walls (Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.). The Mids evened things up when their No. 1 team of Calvin Mark (Fr., Union City, Calif.) and Peter McDonald (Fr., Chapel Hill, N.C.) defeated Jacob Behal and Andrew Mellow by the score of 8-3.

"It was another great match from Calvin and Peter," said Navy head coach John Officer. "They are now 10-0 this spring and 15-1 for the entire season."

Furman would secure the doubles point when its No. 3 team of Nate Collins and Watson George posted an 8-6 win over Blake Daniel (Fr., Overland Park, Kan.) and Chris Kenney (So., Westlake Village, Calif.).

Cook gave Furman its second team point of the day with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Burnett at No. 4 singles. Mellow then made the score 3-0 in favor of the Paladins with his 6-2, 6-3 win over Rebersak at No. 1 singles.

The remaining four matches saw Navy win the opening set in each pairing, but the Mids could close out only one of those matches before Furman tallied its fourth team point to end the competition between the programs. Daniel recorded Navy's point when he posted a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Robbie Aru at No. 5 singles. The match would end when Tyler Droll rallied to win a 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-2 decision over Nicholas Gutsche (Jr., Sarasota, Fla.) at No. 6 singles.

"We had placed ourselves in good position by winning those four first sets," said Officer, "but things slipped away from us in the second sets. We just weren't able to close any of them out.

"We competed hard today against a good Furman team that was toughened up by a very challenging schedule."

The remaining two matches had Mark leading Behal 6-3, 3-6, 4-3 at No. 3 singles and Christ holding a 5-7, 6-2, 3-1 advantage over McDonald at No. 2 singles.

Navy will remain on the road for a Sunday morning match (8:30 a.m.) at William & Mary.

Furman (1-6) def. Navy (7-3), 4-1
Doubles -- Furman wins the doubles point (2-1-3)
1. Mark, Calvin / McDonald, Peter (NAVY) def. Behal, Jacob / Mellow, Andrew (FURMAN) 8-3
2. #49 Christ, Alex / Cook, Joel (FURMAN) def. Rebersak, Marcus / Walls, Anderson (NAVY) 8-2
3. Collins, Nate / George, Watson (FURMAN) def. Daniel, Blake / Kenney, Chris (NAVY) 8-6
Singles (4-1-5-6)
1. Mellow, Andrew (FURMAN) def. Rebersak, Marcus (NAVY) 6-2, 6-3
2. Christ, Alex (FURMAN) led McDonald, Peter (NAVY) 5-7, 6-2, 3-1, unfinished
3. Mark, Calvin (NAVY) led Behal, Jacob (FURMAN) 6-3, 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
4. Cook, Joel (FURMAN) def. Burnett, Tyler (NAVY) 6-1, 6-0
5. Daniel, Blake (NAVY) def. Aru, Robbie (FURMAN) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
6. Droll, Tyler (FURMAN) def. Gutsche, Nicholas (NAVY) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-2