by Doug Page
SUMTER, S.C. – A day after upsetting the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the Barton College Bulldogs dropped a 5-1 decision against No. 3 seed Chowan University in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Men's Tennis Championship on Saturday at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
Barton (7-13) saw its shot for a second straight league championship come up short as the Bulldogs trailed 2-1 against the Hawks entering singles play. Chowan defeated BC for the second time this season after the Hawks recorded a 7-2 victory on April 5 at the BC Tennis Complex.
The Hawks would take a 1-0 lead in the match as Mateusz Izycki and Rafael Goncalves handed sophomore Rory Gaydon and junior Jesus Gil an 8-3 defeat at the No. 2 position. Adi Kaliakperov and Louis Proulx upped the Chowan lead to 2-0 as the duo recorded an 8-4 victory at the No. 3 position against sophomore Ermanno Galimberti and freshman Martijn Eleveld.
Freshman Oscar Marmestedt and freshman Diego Agudelo would give the Bulldogs a point with an 8-6 victory at the No. 1 doubles position against Mariano Yeh and Ghassan Alansi.
Chowan increased its lead to 3-1 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 singles spot as Kaliakperov defeated Marmestedt. The Hawks would also tally victories at the No. 3 and No. 5 singles positions en route to recording the 5-1 victory.
