MISHAWAKA, Ind. - Grace's 17th-ranked men's tennis team came out victorious against the team in blue on Thursday afternoon, defeating Bethel 6-1 in conference play. Dating back to 2012, the Lancers have taken 13-straight from the Pilots.

For the second straight match, Grace stumbled out of the gate early by dropping the doubles point.

Despite the slow start, the Lancers kicked it into gear and swept the singles' points for the third straight match. 

Salva Pons was the first to finish at No. 4 doubles. He swept his match 6-1, 6-2, to even the score at one apiece. 

The second point came from Pablo Gregori in the third spot in the rotation. He needed a third set to dispatch his opponent and give the visitors the lead for good.

After dropping the first set 5-7, Facundo Paredes turned it around and won going away 6-1, 6-4 to take his matchup at No. 2 singles. 

Needing just one point out of the final three, Javier Gallego clinched the match for Grace with a hard-fought three-set battle at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6(3).

Luis Cordoba (No. 5) and Francisco Margaria (No. 6) cleaned up the final two points, each needing three sets to finish off their opponents.

Next up for Grace will be a home match against Saint Francis on Sept. 9. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Don Cramer Tennis Courts.


DOUBLES

Bonsergent/Markovic def. Gallego/Gregori def. Kaytar/Bentley, 6-1
Flores/Jancic def. Paredes/S. Pons, 6-1.
Cordoba/A. Pons vs Marchetti/Andvade, DNF

SINGLES

Javier Gallego def. Victor Bonsergent, 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6(3) 
Facundo Paredes def. Luka Markovic, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
Pablo Gregori def. Santiago Flores, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Salva Pons def. Nicola Marchetti, 6-1, 6-2
Luis Cordoba def. Adriano Andvade, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Francisco Margaria def. Daniel Jancic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3