LMU Outlasts Wingate to Capture SAC Men's Tennis Championship Title

ROCK HILL, S.C. – A three-set 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win by Lincoln Memorial's Guilherme Rocha at the No. 6 singles flight lifted No. 4 seed Lincoln Memorial to the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Championship title with a dramatic 5-4 decision past third-seeded Wingate Saturday afternoon at the Rock Hill Tennis Center.

Wingate, which was bidding for its second straight SAC tournament title, slipped to 16-11, while Lincoln Memorial improved to 14-5 and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs took a 2-1 advantage with a pair of wins on the doubles' side, as the Bulldogs' Sebastian Hall and Josh Eardley took an 8-2 win past Lincoln Memorial's Gabriel Martins and Michael Koenen at the No. 3 doubles' flight to give WU the early lead. LMU's Philipp Hoffmann and Alexey Minevskiy evened the match with an 8-2 win at the No. 1 flight, while Wingate's Kennedy Cancelado and Ryan Forbes posted an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles.

Hoffmann again evened the match at 2-2 with a straight-set 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 1 singles' flight, with LMU's Will Sparks regaining the edge for the Railsplitters with a 6-4, 6-3 victory past Neal Towlson at the No. 2 slot.

Wingate's Roberto Hennis earned a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles to level the match at 3-3, while Hall earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles to give Wingate a 4-3 edge. But Lincoln Memorial's Gabriel Martins rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 win over Wingate's Ryan Forbes at No. 5 singles, setting up Guilherme's heroics.

Following the victory, Hoffman was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.