CHARLESTON, S.C.. – The Citadel men's tennis team dropped the home-opening Southern Conference match, 6-1, to Furman Saturday afternoon as Noah Nawabi claimed the Bulldogs' lone point at No. 3 singles.

Match Information
Location: Charleston, S.C. (Jack Adams Tennis Center)
Match Final Score: Furman 6, The Citadel 1
Records: Furman (5-3, 1-0 SoCon); The Citadel (4-11, 0-1 SoCon)

Doubles action got the day started with Furman sweeping all three matchups, but Phillip Quinn and Nawabi joined forces to take four games from Alex Steryous and James Roelofse at No. 3. Jake Munns and Ivan Mitric defeated Willem van Zyl and Gavin Stewart at No. 1 by a score of 6-2, and Jake Bhangdia and Clarke Wilson bested Roy Hobson and Will Graham by a similar score at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, Nawabi came from behind after dropping the first set 6-4 to Bhangdia to win the second and third games 7-5, 7-6, winning the No. 3 singles point.

At No. 1 singles, Hobson fell 6-4, 7-5 to Mitric, and Jack Pyritz fell 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2 to Wilson.

Van Zyl was defeated by Atlevi 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. Stewart fell 6-3, 6-0 to Singerman at No. 5 singles, and Graham dropped the No. 6 matchup to James Roelofse, 6-1, 6-0.

Match Results
Doubles
1. Jake Munns / Ivan Mitric (FUR) def. Willem van Zyl / Gavin Stewart (CIT) 6-2
2. Jake Bhangdia / Clarke Wilson (FUR) def. Roy Hobson / Will Graham (CIT) 6-2
3. Alex Steryous / James Roelofse (FUR) def. Phillip Quinn / Noah Nawabi (CIT) 6-4

Singles
1. Mitric (FUR) def. Hobson (CIT) 6-4, 7-5
2. Wilson (FUR) def. Pyritz (CIT) 6-3, 6-0
3. Nawabi (CIT) def. Bhangdia (FUR) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6
4. Atlevi (FUR) def. van Zyl (CIT) 6-4, 6-3
5. Singerman (FUR) def. Stewart (CIT) 6-3, 6-0
6. James Roelofse (FUR) def. Graham (CIT) 6-1, 6-0

QUOTABLES FROM COACH KRIESE
"Give credit to Furman for good prep and tough play in every match up and down the line," said head coach Chuck Kriese. "They started pulling away about an hour into the match, and although some of the matches were very close, Furman's confidence grew as the match went on. Our ball striking is plenty good and we have plenty good athletes. We just need to get more reps at winning. Our team did not go away and although I'm disappointed in our doubles play, I was glad that Noah came from behind to get a good win and felt Roy played well into the last round. We have a lot more under the hood than we showed today, but give them the credit on this win. We are going to continue to work to gain ground. We just have to finish stronger."

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will travel to Central, South Carolina next Friday, Feb. 22 for a 3 p.m. match at Southern Wesleyan before making the trek to Atlanta, Georgia for four matches between Saturday, Feb. 23 and Sunday, Feb. 24. The 'Dogs are scheduled to play Point, Oglethorpe, Georgia Gwinnett and Rose-Hulman.

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.