Men's Tennis 3/27/2019 6:49:00 PM

RADFORD TOPS WINTHROP WITH COMEBACK VICTORY IN ROCK HILL

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RADFORD, Va. – It was a birthday to remember for Matko Varga as he helped give Radford a 4-3 victory over Winthrop on Wednesday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C.

It was another nail-biting scene for the Highlanders (12-3, 3-1 Big South) once again as it came down to the final singles match. With both teams at three wins apiece Varga on court 5 remained unfinished. He lost the first set, but battled back to win the second set, 6-4. With every other match completed it all came down to the third set. Aditya Gokhale was no competition in the final set for the now 21-year-old. Varga won it 6-1 and gave Radford its first victory over the Eagles since 2013.

The match began with Winthrop grabbing a 1-0 lead right off first serve with the doubles point. The lead was extended to 2-0 when Yevhen Sirous dropped his match on court 1, 6-2 and 6-0.

That's when the Highlanders bounced back with three straight victories from Michiel Meekers on court 4, Andres Silva on court 6 and Rodrigo Magalhaes on court 2. The trio of wins gave Radford a 3-2 lead only needing one point to clinch.

Gabriel Dias for the Eagles stepped up and tied it up with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Alexandros Caldwell on court 3. Then Varga came up clutch with a big-time birthday gift to himself earning his 11^th singles victory of the season.

POST OF THE DAY

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Wait for it...Matko Varga clinches the match over Winthrop on his 21st birthday!! That's how we know it's been a great birthday! #RiseAndDefend | #BigSouthMTEN

A post shared by Radford Men's Tennis (@radfordmtennis) on Mar 27, 2019 at 2:32pm PDT

UP NEXT
Radford returns home with back-to-back conference matches on Friday and Sunday. Friday's match will see the Highlanders take on Gardner-Webb at 3 p.m., before Big South newcomer, USC Upstate comes to the NRV at noon on Sunday.

SINGLES COMPETITION

1. QUIROZ, Diego (WIN) def. Yevhen Sirous (RAD) 6-2, 6-0

2. Rodrigo Magalhaes (RAD) def. WILLIAMSON, Connor (WIN) 6-2, 6-4

3. DIAS, Gabriel (WIN) def. Alexandros Caldwell (RAD) 6-4, 6-3

4. Michiel Meekers (RAD) def. TINAGLI, Alberto (WIN) 6-3, 6-2

5. Matko Varga (RAD) def. GOKHALE, Aditya (WIN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

6. Andres Silva (RAD) def. MIRALLES, Lluis (WIN) 6-3, 6-4

Order of finish: (1,4,6,2,3,5)

DOUBLES COMPETITION

1. GOKHALE, Aditya/DIAS, Gabriel (WIN) def. Yevhen Sirous/Rodrigo Magalhaes (RAD) 6-3

2. TINAGLI, Alberto/QUIROZ, Diego (WIN) vs. Alexandros Caldwell/Michiel Meekers (RAD) 5-4, unfinished

3. WILLIAMSON, Connor/MIRALLES, Lluis (WIN) def. Matko Varga/Andres Silva (RAD) 6-0

Order of finish: (3,1)

MATCH NOTES

Radford 12-3, 3-1

Winthrop 7-9, 2-3

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Players Mentioned

Alexandros Caldwell: 6' 1"; Senior

Rodrigo Magalhaes: 5' 10"; Junior

Michiel Meekers: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

Matko Varga: 5' 10"; Junior

Andres Silva: Freshman

Yevhen Sirous: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Alexandros Caldwell
: 6' 1"; Senior

Rodrigo Magalhaes
: 5' 10"; Junior

Michiel Meekers
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

Matko Varga
: 5' 10"; Junior

Andres Silva
: Freshman

Yevhen Sirous
: Sophomore