Men's Tennis | 4/17/2015 12:52:00 PM

Box Score

Brevard, N.C.----The top-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs avenged their only SAC loss of the last two seasons Friday morning, rallying for a 5-4 victory over fourth seeded Queens University in the semifinals of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference men's tennis tournament. Wingate improves to 14-5 overall, advancing to Saturday's SAC championship match.

"I'm really proud of the way the guys fought today," head coach Michael Cabana says. "Queens is a very talented team and today we found a way to come out on top. Very proud of the team today."

Queens jumped out to a 2-1 lead in doubles play. Wingate's number three doubles team of sophomores Filippo Pezzoli (Milan, Italy) and Tyler Schofer (Graham, N.C.) rallied for a 9-8 victory, winning the tiebreaker 7-5. The number two doubles team of sophomore Connor Kudrick (Spring, Texas) and freshman Amir Zari (Jerusalem, Israel) dropped a tough 9-8 decision, falling 7-4 in the tiebreaker.

Kudrick cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win at number four singles to tie the match at two. Zari added an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory at number three singles to put Wingate on top. Junior Sebastian Hall (Lorrach, Germany) dropped a tight 6-4, 7-5 match at number two singles, tying the match 3-3.

Queens took a 4-3 lead when senior Neal Towlson (Warwick, Bermuda) dropped a hard-fought match at number one singles. After dropping the first set 6-2, Towlson won 7-5 in set two, while the third set would go to a tiebreaker. Per-Erik Soler of Queens won the tiebreaker 7-3, giving the Royals a 4-3 advantage.

Freshman Josh DuToit (Charlotte, N.C.) picked up a big win at number six singles, prevailing 7-6 in the opening set, thanks to a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker. He would go on to take set two 7-5, tying the match 4-4.

The match came down to number five singles. Pezzoli won the opening set 6-2, but Ole-Jacob Meum battled back to win set two 7-5, sending the match to a decisive third set. Pezzoli, who has dropped just one singles match all season, clinched the match for the Bulldogs with a 6-3 win in set three.

The Bulldogs will play in the SAC title match for the seventh consecutive season. Wingate won the tournament championship last season, while also claiming the title in 2012. The Bulldogs will face number two seed Tusculum College in a rematch of last year's title match. Wingate won that contest 5-3, while defeating the Pioneers 6-3 earlier this season. Saturday's championship match will take place at 9 a.m. on the campus of Brevard College.