CLEMSON, S.C. – Freshman Phillip Quinn notched a win in straight sets in his second singles match of a doubleheader at Clemson Saturday afternoon, but it was not enough as The Citadel men's tennis team fell 7-0 and 6-1 to the Tigers at the Duckworth Family Tennis Center.

Match Information
Location: Clemson, S.C. (Duckworth Family Tennis Center)
Final Score Match 1: Clemson 7, The Citadel 0
Final Score Match 2: Clemson 6, The Citadel 1
Records: Clemson (2-0); The Citadel (0-5)

Match 1 (10 a.m.): Clemson 7, The Citadel 0
The day's first match started with the Tigers claiming the doubles point with No. 1 doubles finishing up first, No. 3 doubles clinched the point by finishing up second and No. 2 doubles rounded out the scoring. Juniors Noah Nawabi and Willem van Zyl fell 6-0 to Simon Baudry and Yizhou Liu at No. 1. Freshman Phillip Quinn and sophomore Gavin Stewart claimed a point from Mike Agee and Pierre-Louis Dodens, falling 6-1.

Sophomore Will Graham and senior Roy Hobson put up the best effort at No. 2 doubles, claiming three points from Teodor Giusca and Carlos Kelaidis, but ultimately falling 6-3 in a hard-fought match.

In singles action, No. 3 singles, No. 6 and No. 4 singles wrapped up first to clinch the match for the Tigers. Nawabi started off strong by taking two points before ultimately dropping his No. 3 singles match to Giusca 6-2, 6-0, while Graham claimed three points in the first set before falling 6-3, 6-0 to Agee.

At No. 4, van Zyl fell 6-0, 6-0 to Dodens, while Stewart claimed a point in each of his sets to fall 6-1, 6-1 to Kelaidis.

Junior Jack Pyritz fell 6-0, 6-1 in his No. 2 singles matchup with Liu and Hobson rounded out the first match by taking two points from Baudry at No. 1 before falling 6-2, 6-0.

Match 2 (4 p.m.): Clemson 6, The Citadel 1
The Tigers started off the second match in similar fashion to the first match by claiming the doubles point behind match 6-0 scores at No. 1 and No. 3. At No. 1, Baudry and Liu defeated Graham and Hobson, while Agee and Dodens bested freshman Josiah Schainblatt and Stewart at No. 3.

At No. 2 doubles, Nawabi and van Zyl took two points from Giusca and Kelaidis, but the Tigers still prevailed by a score of 6-2.

In singles action Quinn put Cole Gordon away at No. 6 singles by scores of 6-1, 6-0 to knot the match at 1-1.

From there, the Tigers swept the last five points, but not easily as Stewart took Agee to three sets at No. 5. Agee took the first set 6-3 with Stewart coming back to take the second 6-3. In the third set, Stewart forced Agee into a tiebreaker, which Agee won 7-3 to claim the point.

At No. 3 singles, van Zyl took six points from Liu, despite falling 6-4, 6-2. Pyritz took three points from Baudry, falling 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 and Nawabi took two points at No. 4 singles, falling 6-1, 6-1 to Kelaidis. Hobson rounded out the match with a 6-0, 6-2 loss at No. 2 to Giusca.

QUOTABLES FROM COACH KRIESE
"Our goal was to go in and gain ground, and continue with the process," said head coach Chuck Kriese. "The matches at Clemson were a great opportunity for the guys to compete in a different environment, against a top ACC team that always brings a lot of intensity to their matches. Our first match was disappointing because we were more reactive than proactive. Our guys fought hard and kept their composure and poise, but when you're having to react rather than attack, it shows.

"We were able to take a break for a couple of hours and when the guys got back onto the courts, you could really see the difference. It was a tremendous improvement overall and we got an outstanding performance by Phillip Quinn, who got a good win in his matchup. He was +8 in winners compared to errors and he kept his guy on his heels the entire time. Gavin Stewart also had a great performance. His match lasted over two and a half hours and was the last one to wrap up. I can tell you this, Clemson knew we were there.

"Our doubles need to get better, but again this is a process that we have to grow through. My hope is that we assimilate to this level of play and get some good reps at winning so we can gain some confidence."

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will next head to Greenville, North Carolina to face James Madison and East Carolina on Monday, Jan. 21. The 'Dogs will first face off against the Dukes of JMU at 9 a.m. before taking on the Pirates of ECU at 2:30 p.m.

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