Men's Tennis Advances to AAC Tournament Championship Match

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.- The men's tennis team was supposed to open play in the 2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Tennis Championship Tournament on Thursday. Due to the weather, the team was forced to play not only their opening match, but to stay on schedule, the team was forced to play their semifinals match as well. TWU won the 2024 AAC Regular Season Title, making them the No. 1 seed in the tournament.  Their opening round match was against the No. 8 seed, the Columbia College Koalas. 

Both matches was played first to clinch, meaning the first team to four points won the match.

vs. Columbia

Octavio Volpi, German Delcanto, Zoilo Rios, and David Leon helped the team win the doubles point. The first two won the No. 1 doubles 6-1 while the latter duo won the No. 2 doubles match 6-0 to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. 

The team won three singles matches to win the match 4-0. Patricio Gallegos won the No. 2 singles match 6-0, 6-2. Leon and Jesus Fernandez won the No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches, respectively, with identical 6-0 scores.

vs. Pikeville

Later that evening, Tennessee Wesleyan faced the No. 5 seed University of Pikeville Bears.

In the doubles matches, all three matches had to be played to the finish to award the point. Volpi and Delcanto won their doubles match in the No. 1 spot 6-0. Gregorio Magnarelli and Agustin Gaia gave the Bulldogs the doubles point by winning the No. 3 doubles match 6-4.

The turn to the singles matches saw Tennessee Wesleyan close out the match. Volpi won the No. 1 singles match 6-2, 6-2 while Rios won the No. 4 singles match 6-3, 6-3. Leon ended the match with his 7-6, 6-1 win in the No. 5 singles match, making the Bulldogs the winners by a 4-0 score.

The win moved TWU (17-1) to the championship match against the No. 2 seed, Reinhardt University. The championship match is set for Saturday at 2:00 p.m.