MOC men's tennis upset by Lees-McRae

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on April 25, 2005 2:00 PM

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SUMTER, S.C. -- After going unbeaten in conference play and winning its first-ever regular season men's tennis conference championship, Mount Olive's hopes for a tournament title came to an end Saturday as the top-seeded Trojans were upset by No. 4 seed Lees-McRae in the semifinal round of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Men's Tennis Tournament at Sumter, S.C.

Mount Olive (16-10) opened the tournament Friday with a 5-0 victory over No. 8 seed Coker. The Trojans swept the three doubles matches and Rafael Bustos and Guilherme Serra captured singles wins to clinch the victory.

In the semifinals, Mount Olive led 2-1 after doubles play and appeared to be on its way to the championship match. The Trojans posted a record of 55-5 in the CVAC in singles play during the regular season and had won five-of-six singles matches in their 6-3 victory over Lees-McRae less than a week earlier. But Lees-McRae stunned the Trojans by winning four of the six singles matches.

Mount Olive suffered its first losses of the season at the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 singles positions. Bustos and Camilo Sabogal posted wins for the Trojans.

In the third-place match, Mount Olive fell to No. 2 seed Barton 5-2. No. 3 seed Anderson captured its fourth consecutive CVAC Men's Tennis championship with a 5-1 win over Lees-McRae.

Bustos represented Mount Olive on the All-Tournament Team.

Mount Olive, which entered the tournament ranked No. 39 in the ITA Division II Men's Tennis National Rankings, will now await word if it has qualified for a berth in the Mid-Atlantic Regional of the 2005 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship.

MOC women's tennis

takes fourth

No. 4 seed Mount Olive avenged last year's first-round loss and went on to finish fourth at the 2005 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Women's Tennis Tournament over the weekend at Sumter, S.C.

Mount Olive defeated No. 5 seed Pfeiffer 5-3 in a rematch of last year's five-and-a-half hour first-round marathon, won by Pfeiffer. After the Trojans posted wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, Lucia Henkle, Mariana Shimoda and Samanthi Wijesekera, won their matches at the top three singles positions. Wijesekera's win clinched the team victory for the Trojans.

The Trojans fell to top-seeded Erskine 5-0 in the semifinal round, then lost to No. 2 seed Barton in the third-place match. Erskine defeated No. 3 seed Queens 5-1 in the championship match.

Henkle, who was named 2005 CVAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year, represented the Trojans on the All-Tournament Team.

Mount Olive finishes the 2005 season with a record of 13-12. The Trojans return four players from this year's squad, including Henkle. Mount Olive graduates seniors Wijesekera and Ashley Westbrook.

Lady Trojans

fall in second round

No. 10 seed Mount Olive opened the conference softball tournament with a convincing win, but the Trojans dropped their next two games at the 2005 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Softball Tournament over the weekend at Hartsville, S.C.

In the first round, Shauna Cowdrey tossed a two-hit shutout and Mount Olive erupted for six runs in the second inning to lead the Trojans to an 8-0 win over No. 7 seed Barton. Six of the Trojans' 10 hits, including four doubles, came in the second inning. Melissa Bright went 3-for-4 with three runs, while Jamie Pruitt was 2-for-4 with a double.

Mount Olive fell to No. 2 seed and defending champion Belmont Abbey 5-2 in the second round of the double-elimination tournament. Belmont Abbey used back-to-back home runs to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning and held on for the win.

In the elimination bracket, the wind literally wasn't blowing in Mount Olive's direction as the Trojans fell to No. 9 seed St. Andrews 11-1. The Trojans trailed only 2-1 in the second inning, but St. Andrews used the wind for three consecutive home runs, including a grand slam, to break the game open.

Mount Olive, which has increased its win total in each of the last two years, finishes the season with a record of 17-33.

Top-seeded Coker defeated No. 6 seed Queens 6-4 in the championship game.