Men's Tennis | 2/4/2017 1:42:00 AM

AUSTIN, Texas. – Junior transfer WILL DRUMWRIGHT played the hero Friday as he clinched a 5-4 victory over Southwestern in the final match of the day after St. Edward's men's tennis defeated Concordia 9-0.
 
Drumwight's dramatic finish came down to a third-set tiebreaker, which he won, 8-6. SOTIRIS TSIOUMAS also came up big for the Hilltoppers, going 2-0 in singles action and 1-0 in doubles on the day.
 
The Hilltoppers (2-0) opened the season ranked 24th in the country in the ITA Rankings. Concordia (0-1) and Southwestern (0-1) are both NCAA Division III in the American Southwest Conference and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, respectively.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Match One vs. Concordia

• DAVOR IVKOVIC and CHASE MOREHOUSE struck first with an 8-0 win at No. 3 doubles.
• Tsioumas and ANDRE MERCADO completed the doubles sweep to give SEU a 3-0 advantage.
• Ivkovic was on the board first in singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win to make it 4-0.
• LOGAN BUIGNET clinched the win with a 6-2, 6-0 victory on line two.

 
Match Two vs. Southwestern

• St. Edward's drew first blood again with Mercado and Morehouse winning 8-4 in doubles.
• Southwestern grabbed a point on line two, but CHARLIE SHIN and CHASE BARTLETT gave the Hilltoppers a 2-1 lead.
• MATEUS DALLAVECHIA DE COL raced to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles to put SEU ahead 3-1.
• Tsioumas put the Hilltoppers within a point of victory with his 6-1, 6-2 victory on line six.
• However, the Pirates ran off three-straight wins to tie the match at 4-4.
• Drumwright was the last match on the court, and used back-to-back tiebreakers to clinch the win.

 
 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• Morehouse did not surrender a game against Concordia with a 6-0, 6-0 win in singles and an 8-0 win in doubles.
• The last time St. Edward's started 2-0 was 2012 under St. Edward's Hall-of-Famer Russell Sterns.
• The Hilltoppers have never lost a match to Concordia or Southwestern.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ESTEVAM STRECKER
"This is what college tennis is all about - matches where it all comes down to the last point. I think Southwestern out-competed us for sure. We have a lot of things we need to improve. Will (Drumwright) did a great job and I'm really, really proud of him tonight."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's continues its opening weekend Saturday at Prairie View A&M. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
MATCH ONE INFORMATION
Score: #24 St. Edward's 9, Concordia 0
Records: St. Edward's (1-0), Concordia (0-1)
Clincher: Buignet – SEU (6-2, 6-0)
 
MATCH TWO INFORMATION
Score: #24 St. Edward's 5, Southwestern 4
Records: St. Edward's (2-0), Southwestern (0-1)
Clincher: Drumwright – SEU (1-6, 7-6, 7-6)
 
For the latest information on the St. Edward's University Men's Tennis team, follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @SEUMTennis, or visit us at www.GoHilltoppers.com.