MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The 18th-ranked University of Pikeville men's tennis team wrapped up play at the Auburn Montgomery Invitational with a 7-2 loss to No. 11 William Carey (Miss.) on Sunday afternoon at the AUM Tennis Courts.
The Bears dropped to 1-3 on the season after losing to their second ranked opponent in three days, while William Carey improved to 6-3.
While all the other matches were decided in straight sets, the Bears and Crusaders had a pair of battles at the top two singles seeds.
UPIKE's top seed Juan Reyes fell to Theo Baudin 4-6, 6-2, 10-6, followed by the Bears' second seed, Francois Billet, losing to Clement Fosse by a similar 4-6, 7-6 (4), 10-6 score. Third sets were played to a 10-point tiebreaker to keep on schedule.
Dmitry Babenkov tallied UPIKE's long singles win, topping Leonardo Sechi 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 seed.
William Carey opened the match taking a 2-1 overall lead through doubles play as its No. 1- and No. 3-seed pairs grabbed wins. Only Babenkov and Marcos Fondelius won for UPIKE as they outlasted Fosse and Lukas Moritzen 8-5.
The Bears return to action at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday against Cumberlands in the Mid-South Conference opener at the Bob Amos Complex.
No. 11 William Carey (Miss.) 7, No. 18 UPIKE 2
March 8, 2015 at AUM Tennis Courts (Montgomery, Ala.)
Singles
1. Theo Baudin (WC) def. Juan Reyes (UPIKE) 4-6, 6-2, 10-6
2. Clement Fosse (WC) def. Francois Billet (UPIKE) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 10-6
3. Dmitry Babenkov (UPIKE) def. Leonardo Sechi (WC) 6-3, 6-4
4. Lukas Moritzen (WC) def. Marcos Fondelius (UPIKE) 6-2, 6-0
5. Gleb Bilyalov (WC) def. Devon Sgubin (UPIKE) 6-2, 6-0
6. Andreas Brune (WC) def. Maciej Dolny (UPIKE) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
1. Bilyalov/Aleksei Tumakov (WC) def. Reyes/Sgubin (UPIKE) 8-5
2. Babenkov/Fondelius (UPIKE) def. Fosse/Moritzen (WC) 8-5
3. Baudin/Brune (WC) def. Billet/Ezequiel Suarez (UPIKE) 9-8 (5)
Match Notes
UPIKE: 1-3, 0-0 MSC; National Ranking: No. 18
William Carey: 6-3, 0-0 SSAC; National Ranking: 11
