Men's Tennis | 3/10/2017 1:16:00 PM

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's tennis team was unable to break through against defending regional champion Bluefield State here Thursday as the Big Blues handed the Hilltoppers a 9-0 loss at Bluefield City Courts.
     Bluefield State (6-0) took control of the match from the start by winning all three doubles bouts.
     The Big Blues got a big boost from a couple of narrow wins with Anthony Braem and Alexandr Rudenco pulling out a tough 8-6 decision against WLU's Andy Ponder and Matt Tully at No. 2 doubles.
     The Hilltoppers' No. 1 tandem of Baptiste Perrin and Santiago Gutierrez battled Bluefield's top pairing of Platon Gud and Luca Ockernahl to the wire and beyond only to come up short in a tiebreaker.
     The hosts were able to ride that momentum to a sweep of singles play in straight sets.
     The West Liberty men look to rebound on Friday afternoon when they travel to Asheville, N.C. for a match against NCAA Division I UNC-Asheville.
 
MEN'S TENNIS
Bluefield State 9, West Liberty 0
Singles
Platon Gud (BSC) d. Baptiste Perrin, 6-1 6-3
Anthony Braem (BSC) d. Andy Ponder, 6-4 6-1
Alexandr Rudenco (BSC) d. Santiago Gutierrez, 6-2 6-2
Ignacio Pulido (BSC) d. Matt Tully, 6-4 7-5
Giorgi Datashvili (BSC) d. Camilo Moncayo, 7-6(2) 6-0
Luca Ockernahl (BSC) d. Pablo Cimorra, 6-4 6-3
Doubles
Gud/Ockernahl (BSC) d. Gutierrez/Perrin, 9-8 (4)
Braem/Rudenco (BSC) d. Ponder/Tully, 8-6
Datashvili/Pulido (BSC) d. Cimorra/Moncayo, 8-3