Bishop tennis ends season with 5-2 loss to Emory in NCAAs

Atlanta, GA - The storybook season for the North Carolina Wesleyan men's tennis team came to an end on Sunday afternoon with a 5-2 loss to #2 Emory University in the Atlantic South Region Championship. The loss was the first of the season for the 23rd-ranked Bishops, who set a new program record for wins with their 15th on Saturday versus #17 Mary Washington. In just his second year with the program, this spring saw head coach Dominic Modise (pictured) lead Wesleyan to one of the best seasons in program history with a 15-1 overall record, the USA South Regular Season and Tournament Championships, and the program's first-ever national ranking.

The Bishops opened up NCAA Tournament play on Saturday with a 5-1 upset of #17 Mary Washington. Seeded 3rd in the regional, Wesleyan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in doubles play over 2nd-seeded UMW as Antti Saari/Alexey Rumyantsev (8-5), Davit Minasyan/Marcelo Prata (8-3), and Anton Filonov/Fred Lemongo (8-2) were all winners.

In singles play, UMW tallied its lone point with a 6-1, 6-1 win at #1 singles, but Rumyantsev rebounded for the Bishops by defeating John James at the #2 seed 6-4, 6-0. Filinov then clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Kaz Murata at the 5th seed.

The victory set up a regional championship match between the Bishops and Eagles, who had previously knocked off Hampden-Sydney earlier in the day by a 5-0 score.

Sunday's match saw Emory take a 2-1 lead in doubles play with 8-3 and 8-1 wins at the #1 and #3 seeds, respectively.  Minasyan/Prata prevented the sweep with an 8-6 victory at the 2nd slot.

In singles play, the Eagles increased their lead to 4-1 with straight-set wins at the 2nd and 3rd seeds. Lemongo, however, kept the match alive with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the 5th seed, but Wesleyan would get no closer as Emory's Colin Egan clinched the match with a 7-1 win in a second set tiebreaker versus Prata at #4.

Though disappointed by the loss, Modise was extremely pleased with the play of his team this weekend, as he has been all season long. With a current roster that boasts nine freshman and three sophomores, he hopes that the learning experiences of this season will carry over into the Bishops' 2009-2010 campaign.

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