MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat men's tennis team played its 2023 home finale Thursday afternoon against the No. 3-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs. In a matchup with the reigning Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season and tournament champions, the Cavaliers lost by a 7-0 final and fell to 5-5 (5-4 AAC) on the year.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan (14-1, 9-0 AAC) opened the match with a 1-0 lead courtesy of the doubles point. Anouar Braham and Luigi Moretti notched a 6-4 win in the top doubles pairing, but the Bulldogs claimed 7-5 and 6-1 wins at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, to move in front of the Cavaliers.
 
Despite several competitive singles matches on the middle courts, the visitors snagged straight-sets wins across the board to take the match, 7-0. Moretti won five games against the top singles player in the NAIA, while both Elisey Kalashnikov and Jovan Slijepcevic seized seven games at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
 
The Montreat men's tennis team closes out its 2023 regular-season schedule on April 8 with a road conference clash at SCAD Atlanta. Doubles play is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.

No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan University 7, Montreat College 0
Doubles:
1. Anouar Braham/Luigi Moretti (MONT) def. Octavio Volpi/Nicolas Cortes Campos (TWU) 6-4
2. Gabriel Ortiz/Ruben Busch (TWU) def. Hugo Rodriguez/Elisey Kalashnikov (MONT) 7-5
3. Zoilo Rios/Jesus Fernandez (TWU) def. Daniel Sanchez de Pedro/Jovan Slijepcevic (MONT) 6-1
Singles:
1. #1 Gabriel Ortiz (TWU) def. Luigi Moretti (MONT) 6-4, 6-1
2. #12 Nicolas Cortes Campos (TWU) def. Anouar Braham (MONT) 6-0, 6-4
3. Zoilo Rios (TWU) def. Elisey Kalashnikov (MONT) 6-3, 6-4
4. Ruben Busch (TWU) def. Jovan Slijepcevic (MONT) 6-3, 6-4
5. Sabi Roi (TWU) def. Daniel Sanchez de Pedro (MONT) 6-3, 6-1
6. Jesus Fernandez (TWU) def. Hugo Rodriguez (MONT) 6-0, 6-0