The Lee University men's tennis team evened its conference record with a 7-2 defeat of The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The Flames improved to 7-3 overall and are 2-2 inside the Gulf South Conference. UAH fell to 4-7, 2-5 GSC.
"We didn't play our best today, so to finish with a 7-2 win against a good team is pleasing," said Lee head coach Patric Hynes. "We knew we had to play smart doubles. No. 1 and 2 were able to hold up under pressure."
UAH grabbed the early lead with an 8-4 win by James Caddies and Noah Pring at No. 3 doubles. Rhys Milne and Jake Okines were 8-5 winners against Dylan Hall and Timo Christen. Daniel Prata and Igor Schattan held off Rodrigo Palomino and Elliot Hopson to win 8-6 at No. 2 doubles and give the Flames a 2-1 edge heading into singles competition.
Milne added to the Lee lead with a 6-2, 7-5 win against Hall. Okines posted a 6-3, 6-4 straight-set win at No. 2 singles to put the Flames within one point of the team win.
Prata continued the momentum and secured the team victory with a 6-4 and 6-3 score against Pring. Schattan was a 6-4, 6-3 winner at No. 3 singles to push Lee's lead to 6-1.
Tim Nutz ended Lee's streak and avoided the singles shutout. Blackburn won the opening set 7-5 before Nutz forced a third set with a 6-3 margin in the second set. Nutz earned the individual win with a 10-8 score in the super-set tie-breaker.
Medeiros battled back from a 6-3 loss in his opening set to Guilherme Coleta to record a three-set victory.
"The Brazilians did well today," added Hynes. "Igor played a solid match, probably the best he's performed all year. His energy was up and he competed hard. Daniel did a great job of sticking to his plan and executed it well. The first match back after spring break is always a challenge, but I think we did a decent job."
The Flames will step back out of conference on Friday to battle University of Southern Indiana. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the DeVos Tennis Center.
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LEE UNIVERSITY 7, UAH 2
Singles competition
1. Rhys Milne (LEE-M) def. Dylan Hall (UAH) 6-2, 7-5
2. Jake Okines (LEE-M) def. Elliot Hopson (UAH) 6-3, 6-4
3. Igor Schattan (LEE-M) def. James Caddies (UAH) 6-4, 6-3
4. Tim Nutz (UAH) def. Boyd Blackburn (LEE-M) 5-7, 6-3, 10-8
5. Bruno Medeiros (LEE-M) def. Guilherme Coleta (UAH) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Daniel Prata (LEE-M) def. Noah Pring (UAH) 6-4, 6-3
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Doubles competition
1. Rhys Milne/Jake Okines (LEE-M) def. Dylan Hall/Timo Christen (UAH) 8-5
2. Daniel Prata/Igor Schattan (LEE-M) def. Rodrigo Palomino/Elliot Hopson (UAH) 8-6
3. James Caddies/Noah Pring (UAH) def. Boyd Blackburn/Bruno Medeiros (LEE-M) 8-4
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