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Men's Tennis clips Alabama-Huntsville for 4th straight win
By Matt Green
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The Shorter University men's tennis team took two of three doubles matches and claimed wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles en route to a 5-4 victory over NCAA Division II member and future Gulf South Conference rival University of Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday night in Alabama.
The Hawks (11-13), ranked No. 25 in the latest NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches Top 25 Poll, have now won four straight heading into the 2012 regular season finale at Southern States Athletic Conference rival and fifth-ranked Auburn-Montgomery on Saturday. Shorter also won its second straight match by a 5-4 margin and are 4-0 this season in matches decided by a 5-4 count.
Shorter siezed victory against the Chargers (4-10) on the shoulders of several clutch performances in tight matches.
At No. 2 doubles, Shorter's duo of Romain Lefevre and Arturo Lifshitz edged past UAH's tandem of Raphael Oliveira and Marcos Rivera, 8-6. The Hawks emerged from doubles competition with a 2-1 lead in the match after Grayson Jones and Colt Kelley teamed up at No. 3 doubles and downed Guillermo Reyes and Thales Castro, 8-4.
The Hawks captured big wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles to set the stage for a dramatic win.
Romain Ferriera defeated UAH's Daniel Canellas 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 1 position and Lefevre pulled out a 7-5, 6-4 win over Chris Kano at No. 2. Florain Etienne, a member of Shorter's No. 1 doubles team that came up short in its match, rebounded with the clinching singles victory, topping Bruno Medeiros 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4.
#25 SHORTER 5, ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 4
Doubles:
1: Daniel Canellas / Chris Kano (UAH) def. Florain Etienne / Romain Ferriera, 8-1
2: Romain Lefevre / Arturo Lifshitz (SU) def. Raphael Oliveira / Marcos Rivera, 8-6
3: Grayson Jones / Colt Kelley (SU) def. Guillermo Reyes / Thales Castro, 8-4
Singles:
1: Ferriera (SU) def. Canellas, 6-4, 6-2
2: Lefevre (SU) def. Kano, 7-5, 6-4
3: Oliveira (UAH) def. Lifshitz, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6
4: Etienne (SU) def. Medeiros, 6-1, 6-2
5: Reyes (UAH) def. Kelley, 6-0, 6-3
6: Rivera (UAH) def. G. Jones, 6-2, 6-1
