Men's Tennis 4/19/2019 1:05:00 PM

RADFORD DOWNS NO. 1 GARDNER-WEBB, RETURNS TO THE BIG SOUTH FINALS

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RADFORD, Va. – After falling behind 1-0, the Radford men's tennis team won four of the final five points to come back and take down top-seeded Gardner-Webb, 4-2, in the semifinals of the Big South Championship.

The win propels Radford to its 16^th victory of the season and its first Big South Championship semifinal win since the 2012 season.

Gardner-Webb took the doubles point and kept the momentum going into singles competition. They held a lead through the first four or five points in the first set, but then the tide started to turn in favor of the Highlanders.

Courts 3-6 play started to pick up for Radford and all of them won the first set. Andres Silva (court 6) was the first Highlander to claim the second set and tie the match at one. Alexandros Caldwell, competing on court 3, gave Radford a 2-1 edge with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Pierre-Olivier Lassalle moved Radford one point closer to clinching with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court 5 over Joahn Fors. However, the regular season champs didn't go down without a fight. The 124^th ranked player in the country, Maximilian Scholl defeated Yevhen Sirous on court 1.

With two courts left playing, Michiel Meekers was in control of court 4, while Rodrigo Magalhaes was making a comeback on court 2. Just when Magalhaes evened his court at 5, Meekers clinched the point and the match for Radford.

No. 1 Gardner-Webb only lost one conference match during the regular season and it came at the hands of Radford. Meekers and the boys defeated Gardner-Webb for second time this season and improved to 3-0 against the Runnin' Bulldogs all-time in the Big South Championship.

DID YOU KNOW?
Radford now has 26 all-time wins in the Big South Championship, including five championship final wins. The Highlanders will be in their first Big South Championship Final since 2012.

TWEET OF THE MATCH

RADFORD enthusiastically puts its name in the #BigSouthMTEN FINAL, with a 4-2 upset of top seed GWU. pic.twitter.com/SIXumloprQ
— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) April 19, 2019

UP NEXT
The Highlanders will face the winner of No. 2 Campbell and No. 3 UNC Asheville on Saturday at noon. The finals location is still to be determined.

SINGLES COMPETITION

1. #124 SCHOLL, Maximilian (GWU) def. Yevhen Sirous (RADM) 6-3, 6-3

2. HURRION, Millen (GWU) vs. Rodrigo Magalhaes (RADM) 6-4, 5-5, unfinished

3. Alexandros Caldwell (RADM) def. PLENTZ, Breno (GWU) 6-2, 6-2

4. Michiel Meekers (RADM) def. GILBERT, Ross (GWU) 6-4, 6-3

5. PO Lassalle (RADM) def. FORS, Joahn (GWU) 6-3, 6-2

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

DOUBLES COMPETITION

1. SCHOLL, Maximilian/HURRION, Millen (GWU) def. Rodrigo Magalhaes/Yevhen Sirous (RADM) 6-2

2. FORS, Joahn/GILBERT, Ross (GWU) vs. Alexandros Caldwell/Michiel Meekers (RADM) 3-5, unfinished

3. PLENTZ, Breno/PUGA, Stefano (GWU) def. Andres Silva/Matko Varga (RADM) 6-0

Order of finish: (3,1)

MATCH NOTES

Radford 16-6, 5-3 BSC

Gardner-Webb 13-8, 7-1 BSC

FOLLOW MEN'S TENNIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Radford Men's Tennis team follow @RadfordMTennis on Twitter and Instagram, as well as Radford Men's Tennis on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Alexandros Caldwell: 6' 1"; Senior

Michiel Meekers: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

Pierre-Olivier Lassalle: Freshman

Rodrigo Magalhaes: 5' 10"; Senior

Andres Silva: Sophomore

Yevhen Sirous: Junior

Matko Varga: 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Alexandros Caldwell
: 6' 1"; Senior

Michiel Meekers
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

Pierre-Olivier Lassalle
: Freshman

Rodrigo Magalhaes
: 5' 10"; Senior

Andres Silva
: Sophomore

Yevhen Sirous
: Junior

Matko Varga
: 5' 10"; Senior