Men's Tennis | 2/17/2017 7:07:00 PM

Florence, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs won four of the six singles matches Friday afternoon, picking up a 5-4 victory at 27th-ranked Francis Marion University in NCAA Division II men's tennis action. Wingate wins its fourth straight, improving to 4-1 overall and 4-0 against Division II opposition on the season. The Patriots fall to 3-1 overall.

Francis Marion went 2-1 in doubles play, with Wingate's number three doubles team of sophomore Duncan Addison (Halifax, Canada) and freshman Theo Dessacs (Toulouse, France) collecting an 8-6 victory. The number two doubles team of senior Tyler Schofer (Graham, N.C.) and junior Amir Zari (Jerusalem, Israel) dropped a tough 9-8 match, falling in a tiebreaker as the Patriots took a 2-1 lead into singles play.

Zari tied the match 2-2 by picking up a 6-2, 6-1 victory at five singles. Freshman Daniel Belsito (Charlotte, N.C.) picked up a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win at number two singles, while Dessacs won by the same score at three singles to give Wingate a 4-2 lead.

Francis Marion won at number one and three singles, with senior Filippo Pezzoli (Milan, Italy) dropping a tough match at one singles. He won the opening set 7-6, then dropped the final two sets 4-6 and 4-6. Junior Nicholas Oliveira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) won the clincher at six singles. He won the opening set 6-4, then held a 5-2 lead in set two when his opponent retired.

The Bulldogs are back in action Sunday, hosting Auburn at Montgomery at 10 a.m.