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GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Citadel men's tennis team opened Southern Conference play at Furman Saturday afternoon, falling 6-1 to the Paladins at the Mickel Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to play Big South foe Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina on the way to the match with Furman, but rains in the Upstate caused the match against the Blue Hose to be postponed. The rains also forced the match with Furman to be moved indoors.

"I have to give credit to Furman for getting on top of us and staying on top of us most of the day. It probably didn't help to go indoors where first exchanges mattered so much, but that is the way it is in tennis sometimes," said head coach Chuck Kriese. "I give Furman all the credit, we played tight and on our heels. On the positive side, today was another good win for Gavin Stewart. He's figuring it out and getting through some steps that he needs to get through. We're anxious to get back and play another match as we know that we're getting better every time out, even if it didn't show in this match today."

The match started with Drew Singerman and Ivan Mitric defeating Willem van Zyl and Noah Nawabi 6-1 at No. 1 doubles. Cameron Green and Jake Bhandia then defeated Matthew Henson and Gavin Stewart 6-3 at No. 2 doubles to secure the doubles point for the Paladins. Trevor Croyder and Daniel Vishnick rounded things out by taking down Roy Hobson and Will Graham 6-3 at No. 3.

In singles action, Mitric defeated Nawabi 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2 singles while Green defeated van Zyl 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1. Bhangdia bested Henson 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 singles, Vishnick defeated Jack Pyritz 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 and Alex Steryous rounded out Furman's points with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Hobson at No. 5 singles.

Stewart continued his recent string of success by besting Croyder 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 singles, improving to 8-6 on the year, including 4-3 at No. 6. He has won his last five singles matches.

UP NEXT
The Citadel is scheduled to play the second SoCon match of the season next Friday, Feb. 23 at Chattanooga. The 'Dogs will then travel to Atlanta, Georgia for four matches over the next two days against Georgia Gwinnett, Rose-Hulman, Point and Oglethorpe.

For more information and score updates on The Citadel men's tennis team, follow @CitadelOlympic on Twitter or visit CitadelSports.com.