SUMTER, S.C. – The top-seeded Belmont Abbey men's tennis team captured the Conference Carolinas Tournament title thanks to a 4-2 victory over No. 3 seed Mount Olive in the championship match Sunday at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
It is the first time since Conference Carolinas achieved full Division II member status dating back to the 1995-96 academic year that the Crusaders have won the tournament title.
Belmont Abbey earned the doubles point by taking two out of the three matches against the Trojans. The team of
Andres Golindano and
Alex Turner earned a 6-3 win over Gregory Normand and Elios Briand and it was the doubles team of
Nelson Stafford-
Zachary Blythe who came away with the 6-4 win over Victor Nunez and Adam Ibrahim to clinch the first point.
Blythe and Stafford would also earn the next two points of the match with victories in No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, as the Abbey held a 3-2 advantage when those matches were completed.
It was Golindano who earned the championship point in No. 6 singles for the Crusaders. He earned a three-set, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, victory over Nunez to clinch the title.
Following the conclusion of the match, Golindano was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Stafford and Blythe were also named to the all-tournament team.
UP NEXT
- Belmont Abbey earns the automatic bid into the Division II Men's Tennis Tournament. It will be the team's first tournament appearance since 2001.
- The selection show take place at 8:30 p.m. EST Tuesday at NCAA.com. More information can be found here.
