ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The ACU men's tennis season came to an end Thursday afternoon as the top-ranked team in the country quickly dashed any upset plans with a 5-1 win over the Wildcats at Sanlando Park.
The Blazers of Valdosta State jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles and quickly wrapped up three singles matches to eliminate the Wildcats from the NCAA Division II national tournament in the quarterfinal round. ACU's season ends at 18-12 while the Blazers continue into Friday's semifinals.
One day after pulling off a huge upset of No. 6 Hawaii Pacific, the 19th-ranked Wildcats couldn't re-capture the magic as they ran into the tournament's buzzsaw in the Blazers.
Valdosta State's top two doubles won convincingly by the scores of 8-2 and 8-1, respectively, to give VSU a quick lead.
Brett Proctor and
Alfredo Desiati picked up ACU's only win of the day with an 8-6 win over Otto Lenhart and Frank Sickman at No. 3 doubles.
The Blazers then closed out the match with a win at No. 2 singles (6-0, 6-2 by Daniel Dueren over
John Strahl), No. 5 singles (6-2, 6-0 by Konstantin Kutschenk over
Bryan Joiner) and No. 6 singles (6-1, 6-1 by Michael Kuech over
Brett Proctor).
Valdosta St. 5, Abilene Christian 1
Singles
2. Daniel Dueren (VSU) def.
John Strahl (ACU) 6-0, 6-2
5. K. Kutschenko (VSU) def.
Bryan Joiner (ACU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Michael Kuech (VSU) def.
Brett Proctor (ACU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Philip Pakebusch/Michael Kuech (VSU) def.
Luke Hawk/
Bryan Joiner (ACU) 8-2
2. Daniel Dueren/Christian Hansen (VSU) def. Edad Campbell/
John Strahl (ACU) 8-1
3.
Brett Proctor/
Alfredo Desiati (ACU) def. Otto Lenhart/Frank Sickman (VSU) 8-6
