Three Bucs rally from a set down

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 5, 2013) – The final score does not do justice to how competitive the match was, but the ETSU men’s tennis team walked away with a sweep of Lipscomb, 7-0, Friday afternoon from the ETSU Tennis Complex.

Senior Jesus Bandres (Caracas, Venezuela), senior Juan Ramirez (Asuncion, Paraguay) and sophomore Ricardo Pabon (Bogota, Columbia) all dropped their opening sets. The two Buccaneer seniors showed their experience in the long run, rallying to win the second and a match tiebreak, while Pabon did the same to earn ETSU (8-6, 4-1 A-Sun) its third consecutive victory and second straight shutout.

“We pulled out an incredibly tough match,” Director of ETSU Tennis Yaser Zaatini said. “Lipscomb came out swinging and our guys held their ground.

“We clinched the doubles point pretty [handily] and started out strong, but Lipscomb came back ready to play. They broke us early at No. 1, 3 and 6, and we had to struggle to come back and pull out the shutout. It was far from being an easy match. I’m extremely proud of the way the team performed and how we closed it out.”

Ramirez was the first to fight back and take his match, defeating Daniel Hernandez on court three, 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3). No. 120 Bandres went down in his second set after dropping the first and came all the way back to defeat Oliver Strecker, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4). Both Ramirez and Bandres extended their winning streaks to four matches.

Pabon closed out the day and completed the sweep. The sophomore dropped a tiebreak in the opening set before winning the second and getting by Colby Shaw, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-3). Pabon now stands at 15-9 overall, 7-5 dual, with a perfect 5-0 record in A-Sun play.

The match was clinched before the final three outcomes were decided. Junior Jorge Varon (Valencia, Venezuela) put the first singles point of the day on the scoreboard, 6-0, 6-4, over Stuart Tierney. Sophomore Rogerio Ribeiro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) improved his team-best record to 24-11 with ETSU’s third point of the day, 6-2, 6-1, against David Salazar. The clincher came from junior Roger Ordeig (Gurb, Spain) on court five against Miguel Cortez, 6-1, 6-2.

The Bucs were also perfect in doubles, defeating Lipscomb by scores of 8-4, 8-4 and 8-6 at No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

Northern Kentucky poses ETSU’s next challenge as the two teams square off Saturday at 2 p.m. Prior to the start of the match, Senior Day festivities will be held for Bandres and Ramirez.

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For more information on ETSU men’s tennis, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.