Railsplitters Cruise Past Mars Hill College, 8-1
March 31, 2012
MARS HILL, NC -- The Lincoln Memorial University men's tennis team had little trouble in dispatching the Mars Hill College Lions, 8-1, in South Atlantic Conference play in North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Railsplitters improve to 4-2 in the SAC and 10-3 on the season. The Lions fall to 2-3 in conference play and 5-8 overall.
The Railsplitters jumped out to a 3-0 lead after sweeping doubles play. Philipp Hoffmann and Tom Goossens rolled to an 8-4 victory over Enrico Patriarca and Enquerio Guerrero in the top spot. Will Sparks and Marcelo Alvim won a tightly-contested match over Lucas Simm and Guilherme Lima 9-8 (7-2). Michael Koenen and Alexey Minevskiy capped doubles play with an 8-0 victory over Michael Melvill and Zach High in the third spot.
Hoffmann remained perfect on the season as he continues to encroach on the all-time record for singles victories at Lincoln Memorial University. He took a straight sets victory over Simm in the top spot (6-2, 6-3). The lone loss on the afternoon came in the second spot as Will Sparks was defeated 6-2, 6-3 by Patriarca.
The remaining matches all fell in the Railsplitters' corner. Alvim won a hard-fought victory over Guerrero, 7-5, 7-6 (7-0) in the third spot. Minevskiy won in straight sets in the fourth spot, defeating Lima 6-4, 6-2.
Goossens and Koenen rounded out singles play for LMU as Goossens took a 6-2, 6-0 win over High in the fifth spot, while Koenen snagged a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win over Melvill in the final spot.
The Railsplitters will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host Carson-Newman College for a South Atlantic Conference battle with the Eagles. The action is set to kickoff at noon at the LMU Tennis Complex.
