By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
LAGRANGE, Ga. – LaGrange (3-3, 0-1 CCS) men's tennis dropped a pair of close doubles matches and could not recover in singles play as Belhaven (3-2, 1-0 CCS) fell 8-1 in an NCAA Division III men's tennis match on Saturday, March 11.
After seeing freshmen Kyle Moore (Sharpsburg, Ga.) and Peyton Beasley fall 8-0 at No. 3 doubles, seniors Al Robertson (Moreland, Ga.) and Luke Griffin (Atlanta, Ga.) fell 8-6 to Gaspar Meda and Bryce Livingston. Freshmen Michael Strydom (Brits, South Africa) and Nic Bodin (Atlanta, Ga.) then narrowly dropped a 9-7 decision to Abraham Gonzalez and Justin Humphrey at the No. 2 spot to close out doubles.
It would also effectively close out the match as Gonzalez downed Strydom 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles and Meda beat Robertson 6-0, 6-2 at the top spot to lock down the victory. They would then collect 6-1, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-1 wins at No. 3 and No. 6 before Griffin pushed Mark Matviiev at the fourth spot. In that one he dropped the opening set 6-2 before taking the next 6-3. Matviiev then took the match 6-3.
Bodin would pick up the Panther's lone point on the day as he took the first set 6-3 from Humphrey before dropping the second 6-1. The current Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Freshman of the Week would then take the match with a commanding 6-2 decision to close out the 8-1 decision.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the courts on Saturday, March 18 when they travel to face Huntingdon. First serve is set for 2 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama.
BELHAVEN 8, LAGRANGE 1
Doubles
1. Gaspar Meda/Bryce Livingston (BU) def. Al Robertson/Luke Griffin (LC) 8-6
2. Abraham Gonzalez/Justin Humphrey (BU) def. Michael Strydom/Nic Bodin (LC) 9-7
3. Mark Matviiev/Jason Ball (BU) def. Peyton Beasley/Kyle Moore (LC) 8-0
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. Gaspar Meda (BU) def. Al Robertson (LC) 6-0, 6-2
2. Abraham Gonzalez (BU) def. Michael Strydom (LC) 6-0, 6-1
3. Bryce Livingston (BU) def. Kyle Moore (LC) 6-1, 6-1
4. Mark Matviiev (BU) def. Luke Griffin (LC) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Nic Bodin (LC) def. Justin Humphrey (BU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
6. Jason Ball (BU) def. Peyton Beasley (LC) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2,1,3,6,4,5