LOGAN, W. Va. -- The 17th-ranked University of Pikeville men's tennis team headed to the Chief Logan Recreational Center and the comfort of its indoor courts to top Davis & Elkins 8-1 in its regular-season opener on Friday night.
After inclement weather made outdoor play impossible over the last two weeks, UPIKE and Davis & Elkins quickly scheduled the match after realizing their travel plans would cross paths at the facility in Logan. The Bears made the most of the opportunity, winning every singles match in straight sets and winning two out of three in doubles.
Through the first two doubles finishes, UPIKE was already in front 2-0 as Dmitry Babenkov and Marcos Fondelius routed Maity Prado and Tristram Pitsnaugle 8-1 at the No. 2 seed, followed by an 8-2 win for Francois Billet and Pawel Tarasewicz over Vincent Hamon and Guilherme Hubsch at No. 3.
The lone loss of the day for the Bears came in the top-seeded doubles match where Davis & Elkins' Charles Brunel and Thomas Judd overcame Juan Reyes and Devon Sgubin 8-3. Sgubin was the only player in the doubles matches who did not go on to play in singles.
Leading 2-1, UPIKE got its first lift in singles play from Billet who made quick work of Brunel 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 2 seed, while third-seeded Babenkov made it a 4-1 Bear lead after topping Judd 7-6 (5), 6-3. The clinching fifth win came from Reyes at the No. 1 seed, battling past Hamon 6-4, 4-6 (4) as the pair played a tie breaker to decide the third set.
With the win already in the bag, the remaining players finished out their matches with an eight-game pro set. Tarasewicz won 8-2 over Prado at No. 4, Fondelius won 8-2 against Spitsnaugle at No. 5 and Ezequiel Suarez rounded out the group with an 8-4 win over Hubsch.
UPIKE's next match is at 3 p.m. ET on March 3 at UVa.-Wise.
No. 16 UPIKE 8, Davis & Elkins (W. Va.) 1
Feb. 27, 2015 at Chief Logan Recreational Center (Logan, W. Va.)
Singles
1. Juan Reyes (UPIKE) def. Vincent Hamon (DEC) 6-4, 4-6 (4)
2. Francois Billet (UPIKE) def. Charles Brunel (DEC) 6-4, 6-1
3. Dmitry Babenkov (UPIKE) def. Thomas Judd (DEC) 7-6 (5), 6-3
4. Pawel Tarasewicz (UPIKE) def. Maity Prado (DEC) 8-2
5. Marcos Fondelius (UPIKE) def. Tristram Spitsnaugle (DEC) 8-4
6. Ezequiel Suarez (UPIKE) def. Guilherme Hubsch (DEC) 8-4
Doubles
1. Brunel/Judd (DEC) def. Reyes/Devon Sgubin (UPIKE) 8-3
2. Babenkov/Fondelius (UPIKE) def. Prado/Spitsnaugle (DEC) 8-1
3. Billet/Tarasewicz (UPIKE) def. Hamon/Hubsch (DEC) 8-2
Match Notes
UPIKE: 1-0, 0-0 MSC; National Ranking: No. 17
Davis & Elkins: 0-2, 0-0 GMAC; National Ranking: NR
