Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's tennis team held off the Jacksonville State Gamecocks for a 4-3 non-conference victory on Saturday afternoon at Mickel Tennis Center.

Furman improves to 3-4 on the season while Jacksonville State drops to 4-3 overall.

The Paladins struck first in doubles play with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 to secure the point and take a 1-0 lead. Furman fell behind early at No. 3 but rallied back to win the tiebreaker at both No. 1 and No. 2. In the No. 1 match, Cole Burnam and Thomas Kennedy won their fourth match of the season, 7-6 (8-6), over Vanja Dobrnjac and Lucius Soller. Jerry Barton and Elijah Poritzky, playing at No. 2, won the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-4) victory against Agustin Cuellar and Xavier Sarda Marti for their team leading fifth win.

The Paladins came out to start singles competition by winning at No. 1 and No. 3 to extend their lead out to 3-0. Kennedy defeated Vicente Arbelaez at No. 3 in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. Barton followed with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph at No. 1 against Cuellar.

The Gamecocks responded by capturing the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 matches to tie the score at 3-3.

Playing at No. 6, Burnam dropped the first set to Alejandro Beneyto Sanchez 6-4. The sophomore from Dallas, Texas responded by winning the second 6-0 and third 6-2 for his team high fourth singles win, giving Furman the 4-3 victory.

The matchup was the first all-time meeting between the Paladins and Jacksonville State.

Furman continues its four-match homestand next weekend, February 18-19, hosting UAB and Tennessee Tech.