Feb. 25, 2007

Knoxville, Tenn. - The Furman men's tennis team gave the No. 32 Tennessee Volunteers all they could handle on Sunday afternoon, but the host Vols pulled out a 4-3 victory at the Knoxville Racquet Club. The doubles point, which went in favor of Tennessee, proved the difference as the Paladins (4-6) and Volunteers (6-2) split the singles matches.

"We really played a great match today -- an exceptional effort by the team," commented head coach Paul Scarpa. "We got three excellent singles matches from Andy (Juc), Bo (Ladyman) and Daniel (Knause). We had a chance to win the doubles point, with the top match coming down to a 9-7 score."

Furman's number three doubles pair of Juc and Scott Kahler started the competition with an 8-5 win over Derek Stephens and Kiril Tcherveniachki. Tennessee put the pressure on the top combo after Davey Sandgren and Johnny Thornton knocked off Furman's Ryan Friend and Andy Sobczyk, 8-5, at number two. No. 44 Bobby Cameron and Kaden Hensel gave the Volunteers the first point of the match, sneaking by Ladyman and Brian Crook, 9-7.

Furman got big wins from its top three single players, namely Juc who defeated 29th-ranked Hensel, 6-4, 7-5 at number one. Ladyman earned a 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 win over Sandgren at position two, and Knause posted a 7-6, 3-6, 1-0 (2) victory over Stephens in the third spot.

The Paladins face yet another top opponent when they go head-to-head with No. 33 Kentucky on Monday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.

No. 32 Tennessee 4, No. 73 Furman 3

Doubles
1. No. 44 Cameron/Hensel (UT) def. Crook/Ladyman (FUR) 9-7
2. Sandgren/Thornton (UT) def. Friend/Sobczyk (FUR) 8-5
3. Juc/Kahler (FUR) def. Stephens/Tcherveniachki (UT) 8-5

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
1. Andy Juc (FUR) def. No. 29 Kaden Hensel (UT) 6-4, 7-5
2. Bo Ladyman (FUR) def. Davey Sandgren (UT) 7-6, 2-6, 6-3
3. Daniel Knause (FUR) def. Derek Stephens (UT) 7-6, 3-6, 1-0 (10-2)
4. Ben Rogers (UT) def. Chris Gilli (FUR) 6-4, 6-3
5. Chris Racz (UT) def. Jordan Walters (FUR) 6-1, 6-3
6. Adam Hubble (UT) def. Michal Kociecki (FUR) 6-2, 6-1

Order of Finish: 6, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3