Rock Hill, S.C.----The number 42 Wingate University men’s tennis team blanked Mars Hill College 5-0 in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament quarter-finals Thursday at the Rock Hill Tennis Center. Bulldog freshmen Sebastian Hall (Lörrach, Germany) and Roberto Hennis (Raleigh, N.C.) won two matches each for the defending tournament champions. With the triumph, Wingate improves to 15-10 overall, while Mars Hill completes its season 5-10 overall.
 
“We played well this morning,” Wingate head coach Michael Cabana says. “For us, this is a good match to start the 2013 tournament.”
 
Hennis won the deciding match, taking a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Mars Hill freshman Sam Lee (Decatur, Ga.) at the number four singles flight. Hall made the score 4-0 moments earlier, claiming a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over MHC sophomore Michael Melvill (Ottawa, Ontario) at the number three singles position.
 
Both Hennis and Hall started the beautiful spring morning with doubles triumphs. Hennis teamed with sophomore Neal Towlson (Warwick, Bermuda) to defeat Lion senior Lucas Simm (Curitiba, Brazil) and sophomore Euquerio Guerrero (Mexico City, Mexico) 9-7 in the number one doubles match. The victory gave Wingate a 3-0 lead after doubles play.
 
Hall and sophomore Josh Eardley (Newcastle, Staffordshire, England) recorded an 8-1 victory over Lee and senior Zach High (Columbus, N.C.) in the number three doubles match. Bulldog freshman Kennedy Cancelado (Miami Springs, Fla.) and junior Ryan Forbes (Charlotte, N.C.) earned a point at the number two doubles flight.

Number three seed Wingate will face number two seed Tusculum (15-4 overall) in a Food Lion SAC tournament semi-final match Friday morning at 8 a.m. The start time is one hour earlier than previously announced as tournament officials hope the two teams can avoid bad weather forecast for Friday.

On March 22, the Tusculum Pioneers won four of six singles matches and three third-set singles tiebreakers en route to a 5-4 victory at Wingate. The loss snapped a 30-match SAC winning streak for Wingate. “The key for us Friday is a quick start,” Cabana says. “The better team in the very beginning has a much greater chance of winning the match.”