Bears Advance to Semifinals with Win Over Wofford

Thursday, April 20

Chattanooga, Tenn.

10:30 a.m.

Mercer University

Wofford College

Mariano Argote about to hit a backhand shot

Bears Advance to Semifinals with Win Over Wofford

4/20/2023 1:54:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Amanda Cover

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 2 Mercer men's tennis defeated No. 7 Wofford in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Championship, 4-1, to advance to the semifinals where the Bears will face No. 3 ETSU on Friday, April 21 at 10 a.m. Mariano Argote clinched the match with a singles win on court one after he and Samuel Barrow clinched the doubles point earlier.

Mercer started strong by winning the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. Marceau Foulihoux and Nemanja Stefanovic defeated Ashe Ray and Max Graham, 6-2, on court three. In just their second match together, Argote and Barrow clinched the doubles point for the Bears with a 6-3 win on court two over Robbie Young and Alex Horn.

A double fault clinches the doubles point for the Bears!

1. Dini/MacLeod: 3-5
2. Argote/Barrow: 6-3✅
3. Foulihoux/Stefanovic: 6-2✅#RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/8y0EQWPimv
— Mercer Men's Tennis (@MercerMTennis) April 20, 2023

The top of the lineup posted an excellent start to singles play as Argote and Lucas Dini each won their first sets 6-1 on courts one and two respectively. Mercer also won first sets on courts five and six without too much struggle. On court three, Stefanovic showed extreme grit, battling back from down 5-2 to win the first set 7-5.

Wofford took the first singles point with a win on court four, but it was the only point of the day for the Terriers.

Samuel MacLeod swept his second set to win 6-4, 6-0 against Horn on court five and retake the lead for the Bears. Dini only dropped three games in singles on his way to a 6-1, 6-2 win on court two. With the clinching point, Argote finished his match 6-1, 6-3 against Ray to lead Mercer to victory.

BEARS WIN!! Mariano clinches on 1!#RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/K3ELb2b5QL
— Mercer Men's Tennis (@MercerMTennis) April 20, 2023

Mercer will make its fifth semifinal appearance in the Southern Conference tournament as the Bears take on ETSU. When the two teams met earlier this season, Mercer fought to a 4-3 win over the Bucs, handing ETSU its first SoCon loss since rejoining the league in 2015.

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