After a loss to Florida State, the men’s tennis team hosted Clemson on Sunday, March 4. After jumping out to a 3-1 lead over the Tigers, Tech was unable to win one more point as Clemson took the next three to win the match, 4-3.
With the win, the Tigers improved their record to 4-7 overall and 1-0 in the ACC for the spring, while the Jackets dropped to 5-7 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
Tech started off strong by sweeping Clemson for the doubles point. Senior Kevin King and junior Juan Spir, the No. 2 ranked tandem in the nation, downed Clemson’s top pair 8-2 and improved their record to 10-2 this spring. Senior Dusan Miljevic and freshman Eduardo Segura also won 8-2, and freshmen tandem Sebastian Lopez and Vikram Hundal defeated their opponents 8-5.
King also won his singles match to give Tech an early 2-0 lead. The No. 13 ranked All-American easily downed his opponent 6-1, 6-1 in two sets. However, his doubles partner did not fare as well. Spir went down 6-2, 7-5 after winning the first five games against his opponent.
Lopez clinched what would be the last victory of the day for the Jackets, winning his match 6-3, 6-2.
Segura brought his first set to tiebreakers but could not prevail before dropping the next set to lose his match. The final two Jackets, Melian and Miljevic, each dropped their first sets but came back in the second. Neither could finish the job after being tied going into the final set, and the Jackets lost the match 4-3.
“Doubles was the main positive today, and Kevin [King] continues to get us ahead in the team match fairly quickly. I have to give credit to Clemson for having the belief to come back from a 3-1 deficit, and beat us in two third sets. It says a lot about the heart of their team. Unfortunately, it says something about us as well that we have to change,” said Head Coach Danny Thorne.
The Jackets will be back in action on Tuesday, March 13, when they continue through conference play and host the Miami Hurricanes.