March 13, 2011

CONWAY, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to Longwood Sunday afternoon from the Billy Nichols Tennis Center.

Longwood took an early 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point after winning at both the No. 1 and the No. 3 positions. The Chanticleers, however, won at No. 2 when seniors Matt Gordon and Peter Billingham turned in an 8-4 over Milo Barajas-Alexander and Edward Becker, but Longwood won the next two matches to take the point.

Marc Ferrigno put Longwood up 2-0 following his 6-0, 6-3 win over Danny Heidecker at No. 2 singles. Chanticleer freshman Leo Christofides cut the Lancers' lead in half and left Coastal trailing 2-1 after he defeated Barajas-Alexander 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5.

The Lancers won the next match and upped their lead to 3-1 when Nobu Tananka earned a 7-5, 6-1 win over Gordon at No. 1. Billingham answered with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory over Becker at No. 6 to pull Coastal to within a point at 3-2.

Jimmy Davis clinched the match for Longwood with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 win over John Karle at No. 4. Yusuke Kusuda ended the match with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Crescente Lesser at No. 3.

Coastal Carolina returns to action March 21 when the Chanticleers host Mount Olive at 2 p.m. from the Billy Nichols Tennis Center.

AGATE
Doubles
Marc Ferrigno & Jimmy Davis (Longwood) def. Danny Heidecker & Alex Funkhouser (Coastal Carolina) 8-6
Matt Gordon & Peter Billingham (Coastal Carolina) def. Milo Barajas-Alexander & Edward Becker (Longwood) 8-4
Nobu Tananka & Crescente Lesser (Longwood) def. Yusuke Kusuda & Dorian Sovic (Coastal Carolina) 8-2

Singles
Nobu Tananka (Longwood) def. Matt Gordon (Coastal Carolina) 7-5, 6-1
Marc Ferrigno (Longwood) def. Danny Heidecker (Coastal Carolina) 6-0, 6-3
Yusuke Kusuda (Coastal Carolina) def. Crescente Lesser (Longwood) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Jimmy Davis (Longwood) def. John Karle (Coastal Carolina) 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
Leo Christofides (Coastal Carolina) def. Milo Barajas-Alexander (Longwood) 6-1, 6-0
Peter Billingham (Coastal Carolina) def. Edward Becker (Longwood) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5