CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.— The Montreat men's and women's tennis teams each advanced to their respective Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament championship games with wins in the semifinal round at the Champions Tennis Club Friday afternoon.
The women's team used another impressive showing to down the No. 4 seed and No. 20 team in the country, SCAD Atlanta.
In doubles action, the Cavs took care of business, earning a 1-0 lead following the trio of matches. Montreat then followed up its doubles win by taking three consecutive singles contests to advance to the championship with a 4-0 victory. With the triumph, the Cavaliers defeated their opposition via a sweep for the second straight day.
In just 25 minutes,
Denilson Martinez and
Marcos Castares collected a victory at No. 3 doubles, notching a win in just seven games (6-1). After the Cavs dropped a close 6-4 decision at No. 2,
Adam Nagoudi and
Luigi Moretti rallied from a 5-3 deficit to earn a 7-5 triumph and help Montreat go up 1-0.
All four players involved in the doubles wins captured the first sets of their singles matchups as Nagoudi, Martinez, Moretti and Castares each notched first-set victories. Castares quickly finished off his opponent with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 5 before Nagoudi put the Cavaliers within a point of clinching with his 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the top singles position.
The Bulldogs pulled a point back with a victory at No. 6 prior to claiming three-set victories at both No. 2 and No. 3 to knot the competition at three; however, Moretti clinched the triumph for the Cavs. The Italian rebounded after a 6-4 second-set loss to defeat his opponent 6-2 in the third set to send the Cavaliers to the championship match.
Women's tennis will now play the No. 2 seed and No. 9 team in the nation, Tennessee Wesleyan, at 10:00 a.m. in an attempt to repeat as tournament champions. The men's team also faces Tennessee Wesleyan, the No. 1 seed and No. 3 squad in the NAIA on the men's side, tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with a chance at its first conference championship in program history on the line.
