SPARTANBURG, S.C.  – Despite taking the double's point to open the match, the Converse University men's tennis team (6-6 1-2 Conference Carolinas) dropped their Saturday matchup to the No. 39 Young Harris Mountain Lions (10-5, 5-0 Conference Carolinas) at the Sally Abney Rose Complex by a final score of 4-3.

Freshmen Takuma Furumaki and Manuel Roncero kicked off the match with a 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles. Sophomore Marty Letessier and junior Leopold Morel secured the point with a 7-6 victory at No. 1 doubles, narrowly winning the tiebreaker 10-8.

After Young Harris took 2-1 lead by winning a pair of singles matches, Roncero took a two-set victory at No. 5 singles, 6-2, 7-5, to even the match 2-2.

Furumaki fell in his first set at No. 2 singles 6-3, but responded by rolling to a 6-2 victory in set two and downed his opponent 6-3 in the third set, putting Converse one win away from securing the match.


But proving why they are nationally ranked, Young Harris won at No. 6 singles, making No. 4 singles the decisive match.

Morel narrowly lost his first set 7-5, but dominated a 6-0 bagel victory in set two, bringing the entire match down to a crucial third set. While the Valkyries' Frenchman fought to the end, he fell 7-5 and Young Harris narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory.

Next Up For Converse:

The Valkyries return to the courts on Monday, April 8 as they will make up their Conference Carolinas matchup with the King Tornado beginning at 10 A.M. in Bristol, Tennessee.

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