After a more than two-week break due to the winter weather, Coach Leonard and the men's tennis team fell short of a victory against Gardner-Webb on Sunday, Mar. 1. This is the first time the Phoenix have lost to the Runnin' Bulldogs since 2005, falling 3-4 at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro.
The team started the match strong with a 1-0 lead in doubles, with wins from the number two team of Chris Humphreys and Jordan Kaufman, and the number one team of Stefan Fortmann and Brian Kowalski.
Going into singles, the momentum was still strong as Fortmann handily defeated Gardner-Webb's Nikita Zverkov 6-0, 6-0, not dropping a single game. Followed by another win by teammate Josh Luck, taking out Jonathan Walker 6-4, 6-2.
But for the number three singles, Kaufman lost in a tough three-setter to Brendan Dempsey (4-6, 6-2, 4-6) and another hard fought battle by Kowalski, losing both sets in a tiebreaker.
This loss drops the team's record to 3-7, going into their first CAA conference match against UNC Wilmington Thursday, scheduled for March 5 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.