The Bucs took a trip through the Carolinas last weekend for a matchup against conference opponent Furman and a match against UNC-Wilmington.
Since beginning conference play back in February, ETSU has made an impressive showing against their in-conference rivals. The Bucs beat both UNC-Greensboro and Samford in convincing 6-1 wins.
This came during a four game winning streaking to bring the team into the month of March. Prior to the matchup against Furman last Friday, ETSU was coming off a blowout 7-0 win against North Florida. However, following that win, it has been 17 days since the team competed. Fortunately, this did not seem to affect the team’s performance.
Furman came out strong in the Friday afternoon competition. ETSU lost the first round of doubles, but the Bucs did not stay down for long. Robert Herrera (Barcelona, Spain) and Sergi Fontcuberta (Barcelona, Spain) started up the wins for ETSU, winning their doubles match to tie up the match.
The final doubles match also went to the Bucs, as well as the first three singles matchups. The match clinching win came from Fontcuberta in singles. His 6-3, 7-5 win gave the Bucs the match for the day.
Last year, ETSU held the first seed in the Southern Conference and went on to win the championship. Currently undefeated in conference play, they look poised to make another title run this year. The only team standing in their way at the moment is the only other undefeated SoCon team: the Mercer University Bears.
The Bucs have two more matches before they face Mercer in Johnson City on April 1.
ETSU has four more Southern Conference matchups before tournament time. The next month will be critical for a team looking to win their fourth championship in a row.
