Men's Tennis | 4/16/2015 3:25:00 PM

VIDEO: Michael Cabana Interview (April 10, 2015)
VIDEO: Neal Towlson Interview (April 10, 2015)
SAC Championship Central Page

Brevard, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs will look to win a second consecutive SAC Tournament title this weekend, entering the 2015 South Atlantic Conference men's tennis tournament as the number one seed. Wingate won the 2015 regular season conference title, going 10-1 in league play. The Bulldogs begin defense of the SAC Tournament title Friday morning.

Wingate will open SAC Tournament play Friday morning, taking on number four seed Queens at 9 a.m. The Royals advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinals with a 5-0 victory against Newberry on Thursday. The other semifinal match on Friday will feature number two seed Tusculum facing third-seeded Anderson. The Trojans defeated sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial 5-0 on Thursday.

The Bulldogs and Royals met in late March, with Queens handing Wingate its lone conference loss of the season. The Royals prevailed 6-3 at home, snapping Wingate's 19-match SAC winning streak. Queens swept through doubles play to take a 3-0 lead heading to singles. The Royals won 9-7 at one doubles and 8-6 at two doubles while adding an 8-3 victory at three doubles.

Queens capped the victory with wins at number one, two and four singles. Sophomore Sebastian Hall (Lorrach, Germany) prevailed 6-4, 6-0 at number three singles, while sophomore Filipppo Pezzoli (Milan, Italy) cruised to an 8-0 win at five singles. Freshman Josh DuToit (Charlotte, N.C.) added a 7-5, 6-3 win at six singles. Sophomore Connor Kudrick (Spring, Texas) won his first set at four singles, but lost set two to force a third-set tiebreaker, which he lost 11-9. Freshman Amir Zari (Jerusalem, Israel) lost in three sets for the Bulldogs at number two singles.

Wingate defeated Queens 5-1 in the SAC Tournament semifinals last season en route to a tournament championship. The Bulldogs won two out of three doubles matches, then got singles victories from Hall, Kudrick  and Pezzoli to advance to the championship match. Wingate captured the tournament crown with a 5-3 victory over Tusculum the following day.

The Bulldogs have piled up seven SAC titles in the past seven years. Wingate has won five regular season conference championships to go along with a pair of SAC Tournament titles. Wingate claimed its first SAC Tournament championship in program history in 2012. The Bulldogs are 61-4 in conference play dating back to the 2009 season, notching four undefeated SAC seasons during that span. Wingate has a league-record 102 SAC wins all-time, while its seven total conference championships are most among current SAC schools.

Wingate is led by Hall and Kudrick, a pair of second team All-SAC singles players. Hall has compiled a 13-4 singles record, going 10-1 against conference opponents, while going 4-0 at number two singles. Hall has won each of his last seven matches, including straight set wins against No. 36 Queens and No. 32 Mount Olive. He enters the SAC Tournament having won 14 consecutive sets. Kudrick is also a two-time All-SAC doubles selection. He is 13-3 in singles play on the year, going 10-1 against conference opponents. He has won five consecutive matches, starting with a victory against No. 32 Mount Olive. The sophomore is 36-5 during his career after going 23-2 last season.

Pezzoli is an honorable mention All-SAC selection. He has piled up a team-best 16 wins this year, going 16-1 with an 11-0 mark against conference opponents. Pezzoli started his season by picking up wins at NCAA Division I Campbell and Davidson. He is currently riding a 13-match winning streak, which includes victories over nationally-ranked Tusculum, Queens and Mount Olive. Pezzoli has won 25 of his last 26 sets on the year. The sophomore is 36-5 during his Wingate career.

Zari became the first Wingate men's tennis player in program history to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors. He also earned second team All-SAC doubles honors and honorable mention All-SAC singles accolades. Zari is 11-7 in singles play this season, with an 8-3 mark against conference opponents. Zari is 6-2 at number two singles, while adding a 3-1 mark at number three singles to go along with two victories at number one singles. The doubles team of Zari and Kudrick has compiled a 7-4 overall record, while going 7-2 against SAC opposition. The duo picked up five consecutive victories during conference play, starting with the victory at Catawba while ending with a key 8-6 win against Tusculum.

Senior Neal Towlson (Warwick, Bermuda) has played a team-high 12 matches at number one singles this season. He has four wins in conference play, while the doubles team of Towlson and Hall is 6-5 at number one singles in SAC play. Freshman Josh DuToit (Charlotte, N.C.) is 14-2 in singles play this year, with a perfect 11-0 record against conference opponents. He has won 12 consecutive matches, dropping just one set during the streak.

Live stats will be available for every match this weekend. All links can be found at the SAC Championship Central Page. Also, check in at wingatebulldogs.com and follow @WU_Bulldogs on Twitter for any weather updates and possible schedule changes.

 

Date	Matchup	Location	Time	Multimedia
April 16	No. 4 Queens 5, No. 5 Newberry 0	Brevard, N.C.	1 p.m.	Live Stats
April 16	No. 3 Anderson 5, No. 6 LMU 0	Brevard, N.C.	1 p.m.	Live Stats
April 17	No. 1 Wingate vs. No. 4 Queens	Brevard, N.C.	9 a.m.	Live Stats
April 17	No. 2 Tusculum vs. No. 3 Anderson	Brevard, N.C.	9 a.m.	Live Stats
April 18	Championship	Brevard, N.C.	9 a.m.	Live Stats