Feb. 11, 2009

Greenville, S.C. - The Furman men's tennis team fought until the very end, but the #61 Clemson Tigers earned the victory with a 4-3 decision against the #70 Paladins on Wednesday afternoon at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. The match featured four singles matches that went three sets and a team doubles point decided by a tiebreaker. Clemson improves to 4-3 on the year while Furman drops to 2-3 overall.

Exciting doubles play set the tone for the entire match. Paladin duo Bo Ladyman and Jordan Walters scored an 8-1 victory over Carlos Alverez and Wes Moran at number two doubles. Clemson's Rok Bizjak and Gera Boryachinskiy fought out an 8-5 win over Andy Juc and Chris Motes at the top spot, forcing the number three match to determine the doubles point. The Tigers earned the crucial point as Kevin Galloway and Robert Pietrucha pulled off a 9-8 victory over Andrei Chvetsov and Chris Rhyne.

Clemson took a 2-0 advantage when Alvarez knocked off Juc, 6-3, 6-3, at number one singles. Ladyman put Furman on the board with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 decision against Boryachinskiy on court two. The Tigers improved their lead with a three-set victory at number three, before Furman freshman Philip Fuelkell battled for a 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 win over Galloway at the number four position.

With Clemson holding a slim 3-2 advantage, Walters had a 4-1 lead in the first set, but dropped the set in a tiebreaker before losing the match, 7-6, 6-2, to Kevin Fleck. The match decided, Paladin sophomore Sawyer Duncan came from behind to earn a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory in the final singles match. Duncan remains perfect on the season at 4-0.

"I was very proud of the way we came back after losing the doubles point in a tiebreaker," said Furman Head Coach Paul Scarpa. "Clemson is a good team. We had a few lapses and you can't do that against good teams."

Furman will host Charlotte and Washington & Lee on Tuesday, February 17. The action will begin at 2 p.m.

#61 Clemson 4, #70 Furman 3
Doubles
1. Rok Bizjak/Gera Boryachinskiy (CU) d. Andy Juc/Chris Motes (FUR) 8-5
2. Bo Ladyman/Jordan Walters (FUR) d. Carlos Alvarez/Wes Moran (CU) 8-1
3. Kevin Galloway/Robert Pietrucha (CU) d. Andrei Chvetsov/Chris Rhyne (FUR) 9-8
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. Carlos Alvarez (CU) d. Andy Juc (FUR) 6-3, 6-3
2. #103 Bo Ladyman (FUR) d. Gera Boryachinskiy (CU) 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
3. Rok Bizjak (CU) d. Daniel Knause (FUR) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
4. Philipp Fuelkell (FUR) d. Kevin Galloway (CU) 6-7, 6-4, 7-5
5. Kevin Fleck (CU) d. Jordan Walters (FUR) 7-6, 6-2
6. Sawyer Duncan (FUR) d. Derek DiFazio (CU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6