Men's Tennis | 2/1/2016 4:15:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The two-time defending South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament champion Wingate University Bulldogs open the 2016 season Tuesday afternoon, traveling to Buies Creek for a 2 p.m. match at Campbell University. Wingate went 15-6 overall and 10-1 in the SAC last season. The Bulldogs were 15-4 against NCAA Division II opposition.

The Bulldogs won their fifth regular season conference title in seven years in 2015. Wingate went on to win the SAC Tournament championship, giving the 'Dogs two straight tournament titles and three in four years. Wingate made its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015. The Bulldogs have won 61 of their last 65 league matches dating back to the 2009 season.

"It has been almost nine months since we have stepped on court for competition," head coach Michael Cabana says. "The weather in the fall cancelled all of our events. I am excited to for the men and playing a team like Campbell will give us an opportunity to see where we need to improve."

Leading the way for the Bulldogs will be All-SAC senior Sebastian Hall (Lorrach, Germany). He went 14-5 last season with a 10-1 mark in league matches, playing at number two and three singles. Fellow all-conference selection Connor Kudrick (Spring, Texas) enters his junior season coming off a 14-4 year in 2015, going 10-1 against league opposition. All 18 of his matches came at number four singles.

Junior Filippo Pezzoli (Milan, Italy) is a preseason All-SAC selection. The 2015 SAC Tournament MVP led the Bulldogs with 19 wins last year, going 19-1 while ending the year with a 16-match winning streak. 2015 SAC Freshman of the Year Amir Zari (Jerusalem, Israel) saw time at one, two and three singles for the Bulldogs last season, going 13-8 overall and 8-3 against the SAC.

Sophomore Josh DuToit (Charlotte, N.C.) went 16-3 during his first season at Wingate, with a perfect 11-0 mark against league opponents. He picked up 15 of his victories at number six singles. In addition, senior Westin Bennett (Calgary, Alberta), junior Tyler Schofer (Graham, N.C.) and sophomores Jerome Desrosiers (Drummondville, Quebec) and Nicholas Oliveira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) each picked up singles victories for Wingate last season. The Bulldogs have a pair of newcomers in freshmen Duncan Addison (Halifax,  Canada) and Bram Delisse (Oss, Netherlands). 

Kudrick and Zari earned second team All-SAC doubles honors for the Bulldogs last season. The duo went 8-6 overall and 7-2 in the SAC playing at number two doubles. Pezzoli and Schofer paired up in seven matches, going 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

The Bulldogs open the season with five road matches, traveling to Campbell, Johnson C. Smith, North Carolina A&T, Davidson and Mount Olive before the home opener Feb. 19 against Francis Marion. Wingate opens conference play Feb. 20 at home against Lincoln Memorial.