LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Belmont University men's tennis claimed its first victory of the season, defeating Bellarmine on Friday at the Eddie Weber Tennis Complex.
Senior Marko Ilic's singles win brings his career total to 46, putting him in a tie for 11th in program history with Augusto Ricciardi (1999-2003). Senior Jake Briggs scored his first singles win of the season in his first appearance in 2021, moving his dual record to 7-2 dating back from last year.
Six Bruins picked up their first singles wins of the season and the doubles team of Ilic and Taisei Miyamoto picked up their first doubles win along with the doubles team of Diego Castro and Grant Kelly. Castro in addition to freshman Alfred Wallin picked up their first career wins at Belmont in singles.
"It's always good to get the first win of the season early," Director of Tennis Mauricio Antun said. "I thought the guys started off a little nervous, especially in doubles. But after 15 minutes, we settled in and finished off really strong. I am happy for Diego and Alfred to get their first wins as Bruins and I'm excited for our next challenge next week."
After Belmont claimed the doubles decision to lead the match 1-0, the Bruins extended its match lead 3-0 after Miyamoto and Ilic claimed victories in their singles matches. Bellarmine scored a point with a win from Emil B. Berglund, but Belmont responded with three consecutive singles wins.
Belmont (1-1) returns to Nashville following the postponement of Sunday's match at Chattanooga. The Bruins face North Alabama on Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
Belmont 6, Bellarmine 1
Singles competition
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Ilic (BELM) def. Groetsch (BELL) 6-2, 6-2
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Berglund (BELL) def. Luis (BELM) 6-0, 2-6, 6-1
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Miyamoto (BELM) def. Bottorff (BELL) 6-3, 4-2 (won by retirement/default)
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Castro (BELM) def. Reynolds (BELL) 6-1, 6-4
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Wallin (BELM) def. Dieters (BELL) 6-4, 6-1
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Briggs (BELM) def. Rueff (BELL) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Ilic/Miyamoto (BELM) def. Groetsch/Bottorff (BELL) 6-4
2. Castro/Kelly (BELM) def. Deiters/Reynolds (BELL) 7-6
3. Berglund/Franks (BELM) def. Faulkner/Wallin (BELM) 6-2
