Men's Tennis 5/3/2019 8:28:00 PM

RADFORD’S SEASON COMES TO AN END AT NO. 14 TENNESSEE

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The old saying goes that all good things must come to an end and the 2019 season came to an end for the Radford men's tennis team on Friday. The Highlanders suffered a 4-0 loss to No. 14 Tennessee in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Every team except for one will end its season with a loss and, despite the final match, the Highlanders had a great campaign. It was a bounce back season after the team lost all of its conference matches a year ago but turned around and claimed the 2019 Big South Conference Championship under the guidance of first year head coach Rob Bareford. Radford also ended the season with a 17-7 mark – the most wins since the 2011-12 season.

The match began closer than most expected. The Highlanders held their own in the doubles competition. Alexandros Caldwell and Michiel Meekers had a lead for the majority of their doubles play. They didn't finish but Tennessee had a 5-4 advantage when doubles play was over. Matko Varga and Andres Silva fell 6-3 on court 3 before Yevhen Sirous and Rodrigo Magalhaes fell to the No. 6 doubles partners in the country on court 1.

Tennessee took a 1-0 lead after coming out with the doubles point. Singles play started and the Volunteers began to pull away from Radford halfway into the competition. Andres Silva was a tough one to crack on court 6. He had the smallest margin of defeat out of all the first sets, 6-4.

Matko Varga fell 6-1, 6-2 on court 5. It was the first singles match to conclude and it extended Tennessee's lead to 2-0.

The Volunteer's Adam Walton – ranked 51^st by ITA – pushed the lead to 3-0 when he defeated Magalhaes, 6-1 and 6-2. No. 23 Timo Stodder clinched the match for Tennessee. He defeated Sirous on the top court and sent the Vols to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Radford was within striking distance in the second sets on the other courts when the match concluded. Silva was tied in the second set, 3-3, while Caldwell and Meekers were also neck and neck in their second sets. Caldwell was tied 4-4 on court 3 and Meekers was up 5-4 on court 4.

Caldwell and Meekers played their final match as Highlanders on Friday. They combined for 36 singles wins this season and tallied 12 wins as a duo.

Singles Competition
1. #23 Timo Stodder (UT) def. Yevhen Sirous (RAD) 6-1, 6-2
2. #51 Adam Walton (UT) def. Rodrigo Magalhaes (RAD) 6-2, 6-1
3. Scott Jones (UT) vs. Alexandros Caldwell (RAD) 6-3, 4-4, unfinished
4. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) vs. Michiel Meekers (RAD) 6-2, 4-5, unfinished
5. Preston Touliatos (UT) def. Matko Varga (RAD) 6-1, 6-2
6. Andrew Rogers (UT) vs. Andres Silva (RAD) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished

Doubles Compeition
1. #6 Preston Touliatos/Timo Stodder (UT) def. Yevhen Sirous/Rodrigo Magalhaes (RAD) 6-3
2. Pat Harper/Scott Jones (UT) vs. Alexandros Caldwell/Michiel Meekers (RAD) 5-4, unfinished
3. Adam Walton/Andrew Rogers (UT) def. Matko Varga/Andres Silva (RAD) 6-3

Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,2,1)

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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

Radford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned