NEWBERRY, S.C. – Facing their toughest matchup of the season thus far in the friendly confines of the Oakland Tennis Center, the No. 43 Newberry College men's tennis (9-7, 3-4 South Atlantic Conference) fell to the No. 31 Wingate Bulldogs by a final score of 6-1.

The Wolves got off to a rocky start in doubles play as the Bulldogs took all three matches to secure the point. Sophomores Mateo Bivol (Bordeaux, France) and Laurenz Grabia (Altdorf, Germany)  fell on court one by a final score of 6-2. Junior Enzo Blavignat (Bordeaux, France) and sophomore Tal Cohen (Sydney, Australia) fell on court two by the same score. With the point decided, sophomore Joshua Fritz (Waiblingen, Germany) and senior Marcel Schomburg (Bingen, Germany) fought a bit closer, but still fell 6-4.

The Bulldogs' momentum carried into singles play as they took matches over Fritz and Cohen by nearly identical two-set scores. Fritz first lost 0-6, 1-6 and Cohen fell 1-6, 1-6 shortly after. Blavignat finished next on court four and lost by an identical score to Cohen, claiming the match for the Bulldogs. Schomburg fell next on court two in two sets 1-6, 2-6.

The highlight of the match for the Wolves was Bivol's three-set marathon victory on court one. Despite starting play as one of the first three matches, Bivol was the fifth Wolf to finish his match. After trading 6-4 sets to start the match, Bivol rattled off a 6-1 masterpiece to claim the sole point of the match for the Wolves.

But with the match decided, freshman Lucas Mruk (Sugar Hill, Ga.) played a superset against his opponent on court six and fell 0-8.

The Wolves continue conference play with their second SAC road match of the season on Saturday, April 1 as they head to Harrogate, Tenn. for a matchup with Lincoln Memorial.