Men's Tennis | 9/11/2019 10:37:00 AM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Competing against some of the top teams in the Atlantic Region, the West Liberty University men's tennis team enjoyed a successful debut in the Topper Classic at the Edgar Martin Tennis Complex.
    First-year head coach Ron Hulewicz saw his youthful squad come away with one singles title while advancing several other individuals to the semifinals and finals of their respective draws in the two-day flighted event.
    "I thought this was a great way to measure where we stand heading into the season as we will go up against many of these teams again over the course of the year," Hulewicz said. "I thought our guys showed a lot of grit and determination, especially in some of the longer matches. We battled hard and our three freshmen stepped up with some nice contributions in their first collegiate action."
    One of those freshmen, Gianluca Gerndt, swept three straight matches to claim the No. 4 singles title. The Karlsruhe, Germany native breezed to a 6-0 6-0 quarterfinal win before rallying past Edinboro's Jorge Benette, 3-6 6-4 10-7, in the semifinals. Gerndt defeated Fairmont State's Tom Liddy in the championship match, taking a 6-4 decision in the first set before Liddy was forced to retire due to injury.
    Another WLU freshman, Florent Dulac, impressed with a run all the way to the finals of the No. 1 singles bracket. Dulac outlasted Edinboro's Sacchi, 7-6 5-7 10-8, in the semifinals before falling in the championship match to Mohamed Belcora, who helped lead Bluefield State to an Atlantic Region championship last spring.
    Dulac and Gerndt teamed up at No. 2 doubles, where they made it to the semifinal round. Returning veterans Anton Schulz and Joris Gravoulet also advanced to the semifinals at No. 1 doubles before losing to eventual champions Belcora and Tom Schmeita of Bluefield State.
    Gravoulet advanced to the semifinals at No. 3 singles, as well, only to come up short against Schmieta while Schulz dropped a tiebreaker in his first match at No. 2 singles. Freshman Zarion Jones dropped his collegiate debut to Edinboro's Chia Chun Chiang at No. 3 singles.