CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel tennis team will close out the month of February this weekend with three matches spread out over Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29.

The Bulldogs will first take on the Richmond Spiders in a 12:30 p.m. doubleheader in Richmond. The 'Dogs will then travel to White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia to battle Fairmont State at the Greenbrier in a 1 p.m. match on Saturday, Feb. 29.

LAST TIME OUT
Freshman Zvonko Bencedic bounced back from a heart-breaking end to his match at Chattanooga on Friday to win his first Southern Conference singles matchup Sunday afternoon. Bencedic won in straight sets to claim the Bulldogs' first point in SoCon action of the season, but the 'Dogs ultimately fell 6-1 to Furman. Bencedic, who is normally one of the last ones off the court, was the first one to wrap up as he defeated Henrick Atlevi in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles. It is Bencedic's team-leading fifth singles victory of the season. The Bulldogs forced four of the last five singles matches to three sets, including two tiebreaker sets.

SCOUTING RICHMOND
Richmond is 3-5 this season, including 1-0 at home. The Spiders started the season off with a 4-3 win at Delaware and defeated Hampton, 7-0, on Feb. 2. The Spiders have dropped their last three matches, including 6-1 at Furman on Feb. 22 and 4-3 at Wofford on Feb. 23. Seniors George Lovitt (14) and Klein Evans (11), and sophomores Campbell Erwin (10) and John Walsh (10) all boast double-digit wins this season, including their fall season. Lovitt leads the way this spring with a 4-1 record. Walsh and Erwin each have three wins this spring, including a 3-0 record by Erwin.

SCOUTING FAIRMONT STATE
Fairmont State has not opened the 2020 spring season. The Fighting Falcons participated in four tournaments during the fall. The Falcons' seven-man roster includes seniors Tom Liddy, Joao Lucas Alves and Guilherme Pachane, junior Joao Martins, sophomores Drew Hawthorne and Bartosz Losiak, and freshman Valentino Klett.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will finally get their chance to open the home portion of the 2020 season next week as they will host Campbell, Methodist and Samford. The 'Dogs and Camels will tangle in a single match at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. The Citadel will then host Methodist for a pair of matches beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 6. The week will conclude with a Southern Conference match against Samford on Sunday, March 8 at 11 a.m.

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