ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's tennis team moved to 3-0 on the season with a 4-3 road win over the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Champions in South Carolina State on Thursday afternoon in Orangeburg, S.C.
 
"I give a lot of credit to South Carolina State. They fought really hard and made us earn the tight win today," stated head coach Chris Powers. "We definitely have work to do on the practice court next week, but our mentality was really good today in tough conditions."
 
Coastal jumped out to an early 1-0 match lead by taking the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 flights.
 
The tandem of Steve Mundt and Carlos Berna Ruiz defeated Aissa Benchakroun and Benjamen Niv 6-2 at the top flight, while the duo of Neil O'Connor and Lucas Wayenburg won 6-4 at the No. 3 flight over Bankov and Ivan Pauluychenko.
 
CCU's Guilherme Toresan doubled the Chants' match lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets win at the No. 5 singles spot, while teammate Ryuya Ata followed with a 6-2, 6-4 straight-sets win at the No. 2 flight to push the visitors lead to 3-0.
 
After losses on courts No. 6 and No. 4 in singles play trimmed the Chanticleers' match lead to one at 3-2, Coastal's Wayenburg sealed the match win with a third-set, tiebreaking win at 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (4) at the No. 3 spot.
 
S.C. State closed the match out with a three-set win at the No. 1 flight to put the final score at 4-3.
 
The Chants will host Francis Marion on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. ET.

 
Coastal Carolina 4, South Carolina State 3
Doubles
1. Steve Mundt/Carlos Berna Ruiz (CCU) def. Aissa Benchakroun/Benjamen Niv (SCSU) – 6-2
2. Ryuya Ata/Maj Tomac (CCU) vs. Rostislav Haflinger/Pedro Sasso (SCSU) – 4-4
3. Neil O'Connor/Lucas Wayenburg (CCU) def. Bankov/Ivan Pauluychenko (SCSU) – 6-4
 
Order of finish: 1, 3
 
Singles
1. Aissa Benchakroun (SCSU) def. Carlos Berna Ruiz (CCU) – 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3
2. Ryuya Ata (CCU) def. Benajmen Niv (SCSU) – 6-2, 6-4
3. Lucas Wayenburg (CCU) def. Bankov (SCSU) – 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
4. Rostislav Haflinger (SCSU) def. Maj Tomac (CCU) – 6-3, 7-6 (2)
5. Guilherme Toresan (CCU) def. Ivan Pauluychenko (SCSU) – 6-3, 6-4
6. Pedro Sasso (SCSU) def. Steve Mundt (CCU) – 6-4, 6-4
 
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 6, 4, 3, 1

For complete coverage of Coastal Carolina Men's Tennis, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMTennis (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.