FLORENCE, S.C. – The Belmont Abbey men's tennis team captured its second straight Conference Carolinas Tournament title thanks to a pair of wins over Mount Olive and Francis Marion Sunday at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Florence Tennis Center.
The No. 2 seed Crusaders defeated the No. 6 seed Trojans 4-0 in the semifinals in the morning before coming back to earn a 4-1 victory over the top-seeded Patriots in the championship match in the afternoon. Belmont Abbey is now 21-19 overall on the season while Mount Olive and Francis Marion finish their seasons with records of 12-10 and 13-8, respectively.
The win clinches the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament scheduled to begin next weekend. It is the fifth time in program history and the second straight year the Crusaders will make a tournament appearance. The program made it three straight years from 1999 through 2001 since moving up to Division II.
The semifinals were previously scheduled to be played Saturday but were pushed back because of inclement weather. Mount Olive and Francis Marion were the only two teams to defeat The Abbey in conference play during the regular season.
The No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams of
Xaveam Van Wijk and
Alex Turner along with
Nelson Stafford and
Christian Winstead, respectively, won their doubles matches against both opponents to clinch the doubles point.
From there, Stafford,
Andres Golindano and Turner won their respective singles matches to help the Crusaders earn the title. Stafford had the clinching point at No. 3 against Mount Olive while Turner's win at No. 6 helped The Abbey capture the title.
Following the tournament, Turner was named the Conference Carolinas Tournament MVP while Golindano and Stafford took home All-Tournament team honors.
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders will learn their opening-round matchup at 8 p.m. Monday with the NCAA Selection Show.
- Belmont Abbey will play in the NCAA Southeast Regional April 28 and 29 with details still to be determined.
