Charleston, W.Va.- For the fourth time in his career and the second time against Bluefield State, Krish "Clinch" Patel provide the clinch win with the match tied at 3 all.
The Basics:
Location: Shoenbaum Tennis Courts
Score: UC 4, BFS 3
Records: UC 11-2, Bluefield State 4-6
How it Happened:
All three doubles matches were very closely contest. The third doubles tandem of Lenny Stevens and Jowan Rawson got the first match 6-4. First doubles then went to Bluefield State. The doubles point was clinched by Patel and Llorente 7-5. On route to the win, they fought off two match points.
In singles play, Jake Magill quickly gave Charleston a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 win at 6th singles. Bluefield gained a point with a win at 3rd singles. Charleston pulled ahead 3-1 with a third set win by John Giesberts. Bluefield then won first singles as Dani Llorente was forced to retire with cramping. Bluefield also picked up a win at 5th singles, knotting the match at 3-3.
At this point in the match, Krish "Clinch" Patel is down 7-6, 5-4. Patel faced match point in the tenth game of the second set. He fought hard, fending off match point and eventually winning the set 7-5. Up 2-1 in the third set, Patel cramped and had to take a medical time out. He returned from the time-out, winning the deuce point to go ahead 3-1. Behind great serving and tremendous forehands, he was up 4-1 on the changeover. Patel's cramping continued, and he simply went through the motions of tennis, so he could receive cramping treatment on the changeover. On the change of ends, Patel was up 4-3 and received additional treatment by trainer Jenni Johnson. For the next two games, he played smart, keeping the ball in play when necessary and ripping a winner when possible. He won the set 6-3.
Coach Santen said, "Players very rarely come back from cramping. Krish showed incredible courage today. Krish came through big today, but let's not forget about John Giesberts who came back from a set down to win at number 2 singles."
Man of the Match goes to Krish "Clinch" Patel for the clinch win in both singles and doubles.
Up Next:
Charleston will travel to Fairmont State to kickoff conference play.
