KENNESAW, GA. -- Belmont Men's Tennis saw it's early season win streak snapped on the road Saturday. The Bruins (4-2) were edged by the Owls (1-3), 4-3, in an outdoor duel at Betty Siegel Courts.
"Tough match today," said head coach Mauricio Antun. "We felt like it was so close for us to grab the win, but unfortunately it didn't go our way this time."
KSU was able to take the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. The duo of Vincent Sterkens (Antwerp, Belgium) and Bruno Russo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) was ahead at No. 3, 3-2, before it was left unfinished.
Action on the singles side was down to the wire, with four of the six going to three sets to be decided. The Owls narrowly pulled off wins at Nos. 1 and 2 before BU rebounded. Sterkens snagged a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 while Zak Kahn (London, United Kingdom) clenched a victory at No. 4, rebounding after falling in the first set, 1-6, to win the last two, 6-3, 7-6. Even with a loss at No. 5, the Bruins continued to grind and pulled out a win at No. 6, thanks to a rally by Russo, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
"I was very pleased with the guys because this was our first match outdoors in a long time. We lost the doubles point and 5 out of 6 first sets in singles, so it took a while for them to get used to the conditions of an outdoor match," Antun said. "Once they did, they fought their way back into the match and almost pulled a big win."
"We need to have a short memory and focus on Lipscomb next Friday. We always have tough battles with them, so it should be a good test for our guys," said Antun.
Belmont returns to action on Friday, February 10 with another contest on the road. The Bruins make the short trip for the annual Battle of the Boulevard duel wtih Lipscomb. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
