Men’s Tennis Falls in SoCon Semifinals

Friday, April 23

Birmingham, Ala.

11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT)

Mercer University

ETSU

Photo by: Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com

4/23/2021 3:01:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Bears fall to top seed ETSU, 4-2

By: Travis Rae

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mercer men's tennis team saw its 2021 season come to a close on Friday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala. The Bears were defeated 4-2 by top seed ETSU in the Southern Conference Semifinals.

The Bucs took the early lead over the Bears as they captured the doubles point. Thiago Pernas and J. Sebastian Zabala defeated David Georgadze and Michael Durham, 6-1. ETSU clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win on court flight.

ETSU extended its lead over the Bears to 3-0 after winning in No. 3 singles and No. 5 singles.

Following the two wins for ETSU, Mercer slowly started to mount a comeback. The comeback started at No. 2 singles. Lucas Wayenburg jumped out to a quick lead after taking the first set, 6-1. Wayenburg came away with the win when he took the second set, 6-4. Hugo Lobo continued the winning for the Orange & Black with a victory in the top flight. Lobo was locked in a highly contested first set with Dimitri Badra, the Southern Conference Player of the Year and ranked No. 63 in the nation, but came out on top, 7-6. Lobo won the second set, 6-4, to cut ETSU's lead to 3-2.

Mercer had to take the final two matches to win the match, and the Bears dropped the first set in both. The Bears refused to go away, however as David Georgadze and Danny Flynn both battled to force a third set. Both players won their second set, 7-6, to force a third set. ETSU eventually clinched its spot in the finals and eliminated Mercer with a three-set win at No. 4. Flynn led, 2-0, in the last set on court six, but his match went unfinished.

How It Happened
SINGLES (Order: 3, 2, 5, 1, 4)
1. Hugo Lobo def. Dimitri Badra, 7-6, 6-4
2. Lucas Wayenburg def. Frazier Rengifo, 6-1, 6-4
3. Juan Lugo def. Carver Arant, 6-0, 6-3
4. Thiago Pernas def. David Georgadze, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3
5. Miguel Este def. Michael Durham, 6-4, 6-2
6. Danny Flynn vs. Milo Bargeron, 5-7, 7-6, 2-0 unfinished

DOUBLES (Order: 3, 1)
1. Juan Lugo/Frazier Rengifo def. Andrew Branicki/Lucas Wayenburg, 6-2
2. Hugo Lobo/Carver Arant vs. Dimitri Badra/Miguel Este, 3-3 Unfinished
3. Thiago Pernas/J. Sebastian Zabala def. David Georgadze/Michael Durham, 6-1

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.