CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel will host a pair of matches at the Earle Tennis Center this weekend, battling Davidson on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. before welcoming Southern Conference foe Chattanooga at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.
The Bulldogs (4-7) dropped a pair of matches to South Carolina State and Presbyterian last weekend, but picked up their first point against a Division I opponent this season against the Blue Hose as
Sebastian Kamieniecki earned a three-set victory at No. 5 singles.
In the match against Presbyterian,
Hayden Shoemake also nearly came away with a point for The Citadel at No. 3, taking Teo Cariov to the wire in a third-set tiebreaker before dropping a narrow 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (1) decision. In doubles,
Phillip Quinn and
Andrew Darby pushed the No. 3 position to an extra game before the Blue Hose closed out a hotly-contested 7-5 match.
Previously longtime SoCon foes prior to Davidson's exit from the conference following the 2014 season, the Bulldogs and Wildcats will be meeting for the 62nd time in program history with Davidson holding a 48-12-1 edge in the series. Saturday's bout will be the first between the sides since 2017 as The Citadel looks to snap an 11-match skid in the series dating back to 2007.
Davidson (2-7) has dropped its last three matches since a 7-0 sweep of North Carolina A&T on Feb. 20, dropping decisions against Wake Forest, Georgia Southern and Wofford since then. The Wildcats' only other win of the season came on Feb. 6 when Davidson picked up a 4-3 win over Campbell.
Another longtime rivalry that dates back to 1978, The Citadel and Chattanooga have met 52 prior times on the court with the Mocs carrying a 47-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Bulldogs last picked up a win on March 15, 2017, in a tight 4-3 match, but Chattanooga has claimed 10 of the last 11 matches aside from that.
Chattanooga (3-5) enters Sunday's bout hot, having won its last three matches following an 0-5 start. The Mocs swept UAB to begin the streak and followed it up with victories over UNC Asheville (4-3) and Austin Peay (6-1) earlier this week. Sunday's match will serve as the SoCon opener for Chattanooga.
Following this weekend's matches, The Citadel will head west to Birmingham, Ala., for a midweek SoCon match at Samford on Wednesday at 3 p.m. before returning to the Earle Tennis Center later in the week for bouts with Georgia Southern and Furman on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
