April 6, 2012

Tennis Teams Fall at ETSU

JOHNSON CITY, TENN.—The Mercer tennis teams dropped a pair of matches at East Tennessee State in Atlantic Sun action on Friday afternoon at the Buddy Hartsell Tennis Center.

The men's team dropped a 6-1 decision, while the Mercer women were blanked 7-0 against perennial Atlantic Sun power ETSU.

With the loss, the Mercer men dropped to 4-10 overall and 1-5 in A-Sun play, while the ETSU men improved to 10-8 overall and remained perfect in A-Sun play, at 7-0.

The Mercer women dropped to 2-10 overall and 0-6 in A-Sun play, while the ETSU women improved to 9-7 overall and 6-1 in conference action.

The men led off the day, and the Bears were able to take their only point in either match at the No. 1 singles position, as Pierre Tafelski took a 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) decision over ETSU's Jesus Bandres in a thrilling individual battle.

The Bears fought valiantly in the doubles competition, and were competitive at all three positions. At the No. 1 position, ETSU's Sander Gille and Robin Asker scored a 9-7 triumph over Mercer's David Barton and Victor Dias.

At the No. 2 doubles position, ETSU's Jeremy Bonnevalle and Jorge Varon held on to defeat Mercer's Vincent DeLise and Joao Pagan 8-7.

The Bucs completed the sweep of the doubles point, as Jesus Bandres and Roger Ribeiro claimed an 8-4 win over Mercer's Peter Tauchner and Pierre Tafelski at the No. 3.

Aside from Tafelski's win at the No. 1 in singles action, the Bears came close to claiming a point at the No. 5, as Roger Ordeig held off a good effort from Victor Dias, posting a 6-2, 7-6 win.

In the women's match, the Bears nearly broke through and gained a point at the No. 1 singles position, as sophomore Lucie Payrat battled, but fell 4-6, 6-4, 0-1 (3-10) at the No. 1 position.

In the doubles competition, the Bears were nearly able to snatch a victory at the No. 1 position, as Lucie Payrat and Jennifer Lada fought hard, but eventually dropped an 8-6 decision to ETSU's Paula Jaime and Marine Wieliczko.

Both Mercer tennis teams will return to the courts tomorrow for a pair of A-Sun matches at USC Upstate. The women's match will get underway at 10 a.m., while the men are slated to do battle at approximately 2 p.m.

Tennis Match Results

Mercer University vs ETSU

April 6, 2012 at Johnson City, Tenn.

(Buddy Hartsell Tennis Center)

ETSU 6, Mercer University 1

Singles competition

1. Pierre Tafelski (MER) def. Jesus Bandres (ETSU) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)

2. Sander Gille (ETSU) def. Peter Tauchner (MER) 6-1, 6-1

3. Jeremy Bonnevalle (ETSU) def. David Barton (MER) 6-2, 6-2

4. Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) def. Vincent DeLise (MER) 6-0, 6-3

5. Roger Ordeig (ETSU) def. Victor Dias (MER) 6-2, 7-6

6. Jorge Varon (ETSU) def. Elbert Beekman (MER) 6-2, 6-4