NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont Men's Tennis extended its win streak to four after knocking off visiting Alabama A&M on Friday evening. The Bruins (4-1) rolled to a 5-0 victory over the Bulldogs (0-2) in their home opener.
"It is always a good feeling to get a win for your first home match," said Head Coach Mauricio Antun. "We do not have many home matches this spring and playing all those matches on the road is not easy, so we really appreciate the opportunities we have to play in our courts."
The Bruins came out swinging in doubles action, picking up a win at No. 1, thanks to Hendrik Inno (Someru, Estonia) and Cedric Dujacquier (Feluy, Belgium), 6-1, and at No. 3, 6-0, with Bruno Russo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Vincent Sterkens (Antwerp, Belgium). BU was also on the way to a victory at No. 2 with Stephen Goldman (Lutz, Fla.) and Zak Khan (London, United Kingdom) leading 4-2 before it was left unfinished.
"We have been doing a good job in doubles since the beginning of the season. Our team is really clicking together and the energy of the team is pretty good right now," Antun said.
BU did not let up once it got into singles play. From Nos. 1 through 4, the Bruins recorded straight set victories. All told, Alabama A&M was held to just a maximum of two games in any set. The Bulldogs were unable to complete the sets at Nos. 5 and 6, handing Belmont the 5-2 victory.
"We started very well in singles. All of our guys soared through their first sets, so it was all about keeping the same focus throughout the entire match," Antun said. "Whenever you have an easy first set, the tendency for a player is to relax a little bit and start the second set slow but they kept their foot on the gas pedal and never looked back."
Belmont returns to action on Saturday with a stop on the road at Kennesaw State. Match time is set for 1 p.m. Live stats will be available.
More to come...
