SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Appalachian State University men's tennis (4-3) pushed past USC Upstate (1-4) Wednesday afternoon with a 5-2 decision at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
The Mountaineers now have won their last two matches while going above .500 for the second time this season.
"This was another good win for our team on the road," said head coach Bob Lake. "We had some hard-fought victories today from JW and Scott in their singles matches. I really like where the lineup is at right now and we expect to keep up this type of play moving forward."
App State picked up the first point taking two out of three doubles matches to go into singles play with a 1-0 lead. Scott Webster and Jan-Willem Kleynhans picked up a 6-3 victory over Lenhard Haupt and Jamie Yates to start off the match the right way against the Spartans.
Oliver Casey and Jack Maddocks topped Iganico Garrido and Matt Bennion in a tie break that went 7-6 (7-5) in a clash between No. 1 pairings clinch the point.
After taking doubles, Zach Bost gave the Apps momentum moving forward with a 6-3, 6-2, triumph at the six spot against Tomas Venere. Casey continued his solid day with a 6-1, 6-3 decision agianst Garrido as the No. 2 in the lineup, giving Appalachian the 3-0 lead.
JW clinched the match point for the Apps, but it wasn't easy. The South Africa native went to a tiebreak in the first set before capturing the second and final set against Bennion 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
USC Upstate did get two points in singles play with Maddocks and Trey Morris falling in close matches in the three and five slot, respectively.
Webster, the team's No. 1 in the lineup and now 4-1 in singles play, had a marathon of a match in his victory. Webster fell down in the first set, 6-4, before coming back to force a third set, 6-3, and taking Haupt into extra points with the win, 13-11.
Bost's singles victory moved him to 4-3 and has won his last two matches while the tandem of Casey/Maddocks improve to 5-1 and Kleynhans/Webster are now at 4-1. Despite Bost and Morris' doubles match going unfinished, the partners sit at a solid 4-2 mark this season.
App State will head to Buies Creek, N.C. on Saturday for a 12 p.m. match at Campbell.
