Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's tennis team swept the Belmont Abbey Crusaders in a doubleheader on Saturday as the Paladins began the home portion of their schedule at Mickel Tennis Center.
Furman improves to 2-3 on the year while the Crusaders, who started its season on Saturday, falls to 0-2 overall.
The Paladins blanked Belmont Abbey, ranked No. 25 in the ITA NCAA Division II Men's Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, by scores of 7-0 and 5-0.
Match 1 – Belmont Abbey 0, Furman 7
Furman cruised past the Crusaders in the opening match for its first win of the 2023 season.
The Paladins got the day started by winning all three doubles matches to secure the point and take a 1-0 lead.
In the No. 3 match, the duo of
Connor Laymon and
Chad Nash blanked Francisco Aran Martin and Alex Crabtree 6-0.
Jerry Barton and
Elijah Poritzky followed in the No. 2 match with another 6-0 triumph over Gabriel Martin and Alex Turner to pick up the doubles point. Playing at No. 3,
Cole Burnam and
Thomas Kennedy completed the sweep with a 6-2 win against Jai Rowe and Xaveam Van Wijk.
Furman continued into singles play by capturing each of the six matches to secure the 7-0 victory. The Paladins won every match in straight sets.
Furman's top three players in singles action – Barton, Poritzky, and Kennedy – all registered wins to give the Paladins the match victory. Kennedy finished first with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Martin at No. 3, and Poritzky, playing at No. 2, defeated Rowe 6-0, 6-3. Barton put Furman at four points when he topped Van Wijk in the No. 1 contest 6-1, 6-3.
Following the match-clinching point, the trio of Burnam,
John Rado, and
Alex Han each collected wins to make the final score 7-0. Rado won 6-4, 6-2 in his No. 4 match versus Turner, while Burnam knocked off Matthew Orozco 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5. Playing at No. 6, Han wrapped up the match with a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Marco Garofalo.
Match 2 – Belmont Abbey 0, Furman 5
The Paladins swept each of the three doubles contests for the second consecutive match to hold the early 1-0 lead.
Han and
Jason Smith got the match started at No. 3 by winning 6-0 against Garofalo and Crabtree, and was followed by Barton and Poritzky in the No. 1 match. The tandem recorded a 6-2 victory versus Orozco and Van Wijk. Laymon and Nash ended doubles play with a 6-3 win at No. 2 over Aran Martin and Turner.
Furman would then win the No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 singles matches in straight sets to conclude the contest with a 5-0 victory.
Smith put the Paladins ahead 2-0 after his 6-0, 6-1 win over Crabtree in the No. 6 match, and Laymon used a 6-4, 6-1 triumph at No. 4 against Orozco to make the score 3-0. Burnam captured the match for Furman at No. 3 when he topped Aran Martin 6-0, 6-2. Nash closed out the match with a 6-1, 7-5 win versus Garofalo playing at No. 5.
Up Next
The Paladins return to the road next Sunday, February 5, traveling to Atlanta, Ga. for a 2 p.m. match with Georgia State.
