GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNCG men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 conference match to Furman Saturday afternoon at the Mickel Tennis Center.

The Spartans fall to 8-5, 2-1 in Southern Conference play while Furman improves to 8-7, 2-0 in the SoCon.

The Paladins opened the match winning two of the three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. At No. 1 doubles, Joel Cook and Matt Browne defeated sophomore James Dougherty (Melbourne, Australia) and junior Randy Phillips (Snellville, Ga./Brookwood), 8-1. Furman clinched the point with a 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles as Ben Horst and Alex Christ took down freshman Nazhone Wilkins (Burnsville, Minnesota/Home schooled) and senior Jimmy Roueche (Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley), 8-6. UNCG claimed its lone victory as sophomore Daniel Mack (Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland) and senior Ahmet Sarioglu (Ankera, Turkey/METU Development Foundation) won 8-7 (7-5) against Jacob Behal and Adam Steryous at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, Cook gave Furman a 2-0 lead after defeating sophomore Gaston Murray (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista), 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. Mack cut the lead to 2-1 after winning in straight sets against Christ, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.

Dougherty tied the match at 2-2 when he took down Behal, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. Dougherty has won five-straight matches improving to 9-3 in dual matches.

Steryous gave the Paladins a 3-2 edge after a straight sets victory against Sarioglu, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 1 singles. Horst clinched the match with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win against junior Cameron Smith (Jamestown, N.C./Ragsdale) at No. 6 singles.

In the final match, Phillips won in straight sets 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 against Luke Synn at No. 3 singles.

UNCG heads to Spartanburg, S.C. to face Wofford Sunday, Mar. 23 at 1 p.m.

Follow all the action about the 2013-14 UNCG men's tennis team on www.UNCGSpartans.com or on twitter @UNCGMTennis. 

-UNCG-