by Benny Benton
BELMONT, N.C. – The Barton College men's tennis team won its third straight Conference Carolinas match and fourth in a row overall on Wednesday by downing host Belmont Abbey College, 7-2, at Reidy Tennis Center.
With the win, the Bulldogs moved to 5-1 in league play and 9-4 overall. The loss dropped the Crusaders to 8-14 overall and 2-6 in the conference.
Barton took a 2-1 advantage into singles play after getting an 8-4 win from its No. 1 doubles duo of Jake McCartney and Rafael Ruiz Velasco and an 8-1 victory from the No. 3 tandem of Daniel Radu and Yaxi Pintado.
The Bulldogs then claimed five of the six singles matches, falling only at the No. 3 slot. Ruiz Velasco, Radu, Pintado and Jorge Pradilla all won in straight sets, and McCartney cruised through a third set at No. 1, 6-0, after winning the first, 7-6, and losing the second, 6-3.
The win for Pintado was his eighth straight in singles and his 10th overall in 12 starts, primarily in the No. 5 slot. The sophomore from Madrid, Spain, has also won seven of his last eight in doubles while paired with Radu or Nick Genest.
Radu has earned four straight wins in both singles and doubles, McCartney is 8-1 in his last nine singles matches, and Ruiz Velasco is 6-2 in the No. 2 singles position over his last eight starts.
Barton will host a pair of matches this weekend, beginning with Erskine College on Friday at 2 p.m.
BARTON 7, BELMONT ABBEY 2
Singles
1. Jake McCartney (BARTON) def. Conner McMann (BAC-M) 7-6, 3-6, 6-0
2. Rafael Ruiz Velasco (BARTON) def. Juan Baez (BAC-M) 6-3, 6-3
3. James Delaney (BAC-M) def. Nick Genest (BARTON) 7-5, 6-3
4. Daniel Radu (BARTON) def. Nikhil Reddy Amaresh (BAC-M) 6-4, 6-1
5. Yaxi Pintado (BARTON) def. Gabriel Trombini (BAC-M) 6-1, 6-3
6. Jorge Pradilla (BARTON) def. Damien Nelson (BAC-M) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
1. Rafael Ruiz Velasco/Jake McCartney (BARTON) def. Conner McMann/Juan Baez (BAC-M) 8-4
2. James Delaney/Nikhil Reddy Amaresh (BAC-M) def. Max Leppert/Nick Genest (BARTON) 9-7
3. Yaxi Pintado/Daniel Radu (BARTON) def. Gabriel Trombini/Damien Nelson (BAC-M) 8-1
Records
Barton 9-4, 5-1
Belmont Abbey 8-14, 2-6
