LMU Eliminated From NCAA Men's Tennis Championship

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Rafael Ferla and Antoine Le Dore turned in a pair of victories for the eighth-seeded Limestone Saints to spearhead a 5-1 victory over the ninth-seeded Lincoln Memorial University men's tennis team in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, which was completed early Saturday evening in Savannah, Ga.

The Railsplitters were handed their second loss of the season by the Saints, as LMU opened the year by falling 6-3 to the Conference Carolinas tournament champions in Gaffney, South Carolina. This time, the loss to the Saints concludes the Railsplitters' season. Lincoln Memorial caps the 2013 campaign with a 14-6 overall mark that was culminated with the 2013 Food Lion SAC Championship title.

With the win, Limestone (19-7) advances in the Southeast Regional to challenge tournament host, No. 1 nationally ranked and defending national champs Armstrong Atlantic on Sunday.

The Railsplitters found themselves facing an early 2-1 deficit after the Saints rebounded from dropping the first doubles match by scrounging for hard-fought victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.

The Brazilian tandem of Gabriel Martins and Guilherme Rocha made quick work of Daniel Lopez and Austin McAlister at No. 3 doubles, as they dropped the Saints' duo by a margin of 8-3 to put a point on the board for the Railsplitters.

However, the top two doubles positions fell in favor of Limestone. The All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team doubles pairing ofMarcelo Alvim and Will Sparks were handed only their third loss of the season, falling to 16-3 overall with an 8-6 loss to Lucas Guinski and Antoine Le Dore at No. 2 doubles to even the match at one apiece. The Saints went on to take the lead after No. 1 doubles, as All-SAC First Team doubles selections Philipp Hoffmann and Alexey Minevskiy went down 8-6 to the 11th-ranked tandem of Rafael Ferla and Carlos Yanes. The loss at No. 1 doubles dropped Hoffmann and Minevskiy to 10-8 on the year.

As the two teams moved into singles play, the Railsplitters were unable to get their footing and the Saints quickly put the match away with three two-set victories. Gabriel Martins could not keep his momentum rolling after his win in doubles play, as Benji Lascari Diaz downed LMU's No. 5 singles player 6-1, 6-1 to extend Limestone's lead to 3-1.

Alexey Minevskiy also lost by a 6-1, 6-1 margin at No. 4 singles to Antoine Le Dore, while Rafael Ferla sealed the match and capped his perfect day for the Saints with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Will Sparks at No. 2 singles.

With the season in the books, the Railsplitters say goodbye to senior Philipp Hoffmann, who leaves Lincoln Memorial as the most successful player in program history by all accounts. Hoffmann is the all-time leader at LMU for career singles wins (70) and singles winning percentage (.921), while ranking second all-time with 62 career doubles victories. He also owns the top three marks for the most singles wins in a single season.

- LMU Media Relations