GREENVILLE, S.C. — Appalachian State men's tennis dropped a tough road match on Wednesday afternoon to SoCon foe Furman University, as the Paladins picked up a 5-2 win over the Mountaineers at Mickel Tennis Center.
Appalachian (4-12, 2-5 SoCon) dropped its fourth conference match in Wednesday's loss to Furman (6-12, 3-4 SoCon), who has proven hard to beat at home, recording just 20 losses on its home court since 2002 (89-20).
The Mountaineers started off strong with a pair of 8-6 wins as No. 3 tandem Steve Karendal and Steve Lake defeated Andrew Mellow and Luke Synn, followed by Sebastien King and Zach Bost over Alex Christ and Matt Browne at No. 1. At No. 2, Andrew McKinnon and Jen-Willem Kleynhans played a super match to knock off Jacob Behal and Tyler Droll, 9-8 (7-4), and pick up the first point of the afternoon.
Moving into singles action, the Paladins took a quick lead (2-1) with the first two matches of the afternoon at Nos. 3 and 5, before Kleynhans tied the match (2-2) with his three-set win over Droll (2-6, 7-6, 6-4).
Furman responded, however, when Behal outlasted McKinnon at No. 4 (7-5, 6-2).
Christ followed suit and beat Karendal in three sets at No. 2 to secure the Paladin victory (3-0, 6-0, 6-4), while King fought at No. 1, but could not manage to overcome Mellow (6-4, 4-6, 6-2).
Appalachian will play its second road match of the week when it travels to Tennessee to face Chattanooga on Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m.
Furman 5, Appalachian State 2
Apr 03, 2013 at Greenville, S.C. (Mickel Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Andrew Mellow (FUR) def. Sebastien King (APP) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 |
| 2. Alex Christ (FUR) def. Steve Karendal (APP) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 |
| 3. Matt Browne (FUR) def. Zach Bost (APP) 6-3, 6-0 |
| 4. Jacob Behal (FUR) def. Andrew McKinnon (APP) 7-5, 6-2 |
| 5. Luke Synn (FUR) def. Matt Saltsgaver (APP) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 6. Jen-Willem Kleynhans (APP) def. Tyler Droll (FUR) 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,5,6,4,2,1)
|
