The Furman men’s tennis team lost to Mercer, 4-1, in the Southern Conference quarterfinals on April 16 at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The defeat ended Furman’s season with an overall record of 8-15.
This match determined which team would advance to the semifinals of the conference championship. With this win, Mercer improved its record to 10-12 and moved on to face top-seeded East Tennessee State in the next round.
Mercer gained an early advantage by winning the doubles point after victories at both No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Amen Prince Gandonou and Shingo Masuda defeated Evan Duggal and Landon Ecarma at No. 2 doubles with a score of 6-4, while Nemanja Stefanovic and Hod’Abalo Isak Padio secured another win over Nicolas Dispas and Nico Snyder at No. 1 doubles by the same margin. The third doubles match between Alex Han/Finn Pollard (Furman) and Howell Burns/Cameron Douthit (Mercer) was tied at five games each when Mercer clinched the overall point.
In singles play, Mercer won matches at No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 positions to secure victory for their team. Shingo Masuda defeated Theophile Joly (6-4, 6-4) at No.3 singles; Padio beat Snyder (6-2,6-4) at No.1; then Alex Aldaz closed out Mercer’s win by overcoming Ecarma (4-6,6-2,6-4) in three sets on court five.
Walker Allen provided Furman’s only point of the day with his ninth singles victory this season after beating Gandonou in straight sets (6-2,6-2) on court four—tying up the match briefly before Mercer’s run of wins decided it.
At match conclusion two contests remained unfinished: Dispas led Stefanovic on court two (7–6(5),3–6,3–1), while Han was tied with Burns on court six (7–5,4–6,2–2).
