Bears Force Four Three-Set Matches in Loss

Friday, February 26

Deland, Fla.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

Stetson

2/26/2021 6:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Carver Arant was victorious in singles play

By: Kraig Doremus

DELAND, Fla. – The Mercer men's tennis team suffered a tough 6-1 loss to the Stetson Hatters on Friday afternoon in a match that was truly closer than the final score indicated as it took nearly four hours to complete and had singles matches on four courts go to three sets.

"Today was the first time this season that we battled tooth and nail from start to finish," said head coach Eric Hayes. "I will take this group of men any day against any team in our conference."

Stetson took an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. Mercer's Samuel Barrow and Michael Durham battled Antoine Sanchez and Alexandre Hillhouse in the No. 3 flight but fell, 6-1. In the top flight, Andrew Branicki and Samuel Macleod dropped a tough match to Diogo Marques and Clement Hamel, 6-2, as the Hatters clinched the point. The match at No. 2 doubles between Mercer's Lucas Wayenburg and Hugo Lobo and Stetson's Sven Thiergard and Fabian Penzkofer went in favor of the Hatters.

Stetson improved its advantage to 2-0 when Hillhouse topped Macleod at No. 4 singles, 7-6, 6-1.

Carver Arant got the Bears on the scoreboard, making it a 2-1 match thanks to a 7-6, 6-3 win over Hamel on court three. At No. 2 singles, Wayenburg played the first of the Bears' four three-set matches. He dropped the opening set, 6-2, but battled back for a crucial 6-4 win in set two, setting up the winner-take-all final set. The third set did not go in his favor as Stetson's Linus Bergevi took the match with a 6-2 triumph.

The Hatters clinched the match on court six, but the Bears did not go down without an impressive fight from Durham. After winning the first set over Penzkfoer, Durham battled hard in the final two sets, but ultimately lost the 6-3 and 6-2, respectively, as the Hatters clinched the match point.

Mercer battled at No. 5 and No. 1 singles to end the day with matches on both courts going to three sets. David Georgadze lost the opening set on court five, 6-4, but earned a victory by an identical score in the second set. Georgadze's opponent, Tim Gennes, was ultimately victorious with a 6-3 victory in the third and final set. On court one, Lobo dropped a tightly-contested set to open the match, 7-6, but got the better of Sanchez in the second set, winning by a 6-4 score. Sanchez, however, rebounded in the final set, winning 6-2 as Stetson picked up a 6-1 win.

The Bears dropped to 2-6 overall while Stetson improved to 1-1.

How it Happened
SINGLES (Order: 4, 3, 2, 6, 5, 1)
1. Antoine Sanchez def. Hugo Lobo, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
2. Linus Bergevi def. Lucas Wayenburg, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
3. Carver Arant def. Clement Hamel, 7-6, 6-3
4. Alexandre Hillhouse def. Samuel Macleod 7-6, 6-1
5. Tim Gennes def. David Georgadze, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
6. Fabian Penzkofer def. Michael Durham, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

DOUBLES (Order: 3, 1, 2)
1. Diogo Marques/Clement Hamel def. Andrew Branicki / Samuel Macleod, 6-2
2. Hugo Lobo / Lucas Wayenburg def. Sven Thiergard/Fabian Penzkofer, 7-6
3. Antoine Sanchez/Andrew Hillhouse def. Samuel Barrow / Michael Durham, 6-1

Up Next
The Bears will return to action in less than 48 hours when Jacksonville State visits the LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center at 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Tennis, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMTennis (Twitter) and /MercerMensTennis (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com