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Rufus Plane
Rufus Plane won his second career match as a Bear at number four singles.
photo courtesy of Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics

L-R Men’s Tennis Snaps Losing Streak With Upset Win Over Nationally Ranked Newberry

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team snapped their four-match losing streak with a 5-2 victory over No. 43 Newberry.

The Bears went on to have one of their best performances in singles over the past few weeks, but to begin the match, LR once again captured the doubles point to grab an early lead.

The No. 3 doubles team of Mattias Selde and Joel Hemmings played a massive role in earning the point thanks to their thrilling 7-6 (2) victory in a tiebreaker. Mauricio Hernandez and Rufus Plane took the No. 2 doubles line with their 6-3 victory.

Vadym Rogynskyi, who suffered a 6-4 defeat in No. 1 doubles, responded well in No. 2 singles with a straight-set victory over Marcel Schomburg, taking a 6-3 result in each set.

At No. 4 singles, Plane manufactured a come-from-behind victory after dropping the first set, 4-6. The freshman followed it up with a 6-1 victory in the second set, before winning the final set in a 10-6 tiebreaker.

An injury bug bit Newberry at No. 3 and No. 5 singles as Laurenz Grabia and Lawrence Friedland each had to withdraw, respectively. For LR, Patrik Alvestrand was up 6-1, 3-0 at the time when Grabia retired in No. 3 singles. Meanwhile, Connor Gibson was up 6-3, 3-0 in No. 5 singles when Friedland could not continue.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team will return to the court on Wednesday, March 29 when they travel to Hartsville, S.C. to take on the Coker Cobras at 2:00 p.m.