University of Mount Olive fell 5-4 to Queens University (N.C.) in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Southeast Regional Saturday afternoon in Savannah, Ga. The match came down to a three-set loss in No. 1 singles.
Mount Olive (15-6) picked up an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles as Jose Luis Cortijos and Martim Sousa gave the Trojans a 2-1 deficit to work from moving into singles play.
Sousa continued to help the Trojans as he won his singles match at No. 4 singles 6-4, 6-3 and the match was tied. Sherzod Akramov gave Mount Olive the lead in No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win. After a loss in No. 3 singles, Yannic Stark tied the match once again with a 6-4, 6-4 victory and the match came down to No. 1 singles.
Ogulcan Deniz took the first set in the final singles match 7-6. Per-Erik Soler evened the matched with a 7-5 win in the second. The final set went to Queens 6-3 and the Royals took the match 5-4.
"It was a tough match to lose, but I'm really proud of my team. We're a young team and we'll learn from this experience," said Head Coach Kevin Coghill.
Mount Olive ends the season after capturing its third consecutive Conference Carolinas Championship.