Mercer Falls in Semifinal to ETSU

Friday, April 21

Chattanooga, Tenn.

10 a.m.

Mercer University

East Tennessee State University

4/21/2023 12:51:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Amanda Cover

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – No. 2 Mercer men's tennis fell in the Southern Conference semifinals to No. 3 ETSU, 4-0, on Friday. The Bears finish the season 12-13 overall after posting the best conference showing since 2018.

Doubles was a highly contested fight, lasting 50 minutes to decide a winner. ETSU took court one, 6-2, while the other two courts went to tiebreaks. Mariano Argote and Samuel Barrow found themselves at a 4-2 deficit but battled back to tie it 5-5 on court two. When the match concluded, the duo was leading 5-2 in the tiebreak. On court three, Nemanja Stefanovic and Marceau Fouilhoux had match point at deuce against Dimitri Badra and Juan Lombisano, 6-5, but the Bucs took the point to send it to a tiebreak. ETSU emerged on top in the tiebreak, 7-3, to take the doubles point.

ETSU continued the strong showing in singles, taking five first sets. Samuel MacLeod earned a first set victory in a tiebreak on court five. On court six, Barrow fought back after dropping the first set to sweep the second 6-0 and force a third.

The SoCon Player of the Year, Dimitri Badra, won on court one for the Bucs, and fellow All-SoCon Singles First Team member, Thiago Pernas, won on court two to take a 3-0 lead. ETSU earned the match-clinching point on court three. The Bucs have won every SoCon Championship since rejoining the league in 2015.

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