ANDERSON, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology clinched no less than the No. 2 seed for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's tennis tournament and second place in the regular season standings with a 9-0 win over Anderson University on Wednesday afternoon.
The Fightin' Engineers improved to 9-7 on the year with their third road victory in as many days. Rose-Hulman also secured its 17th consecutive season finishing with a record of .500 or above with the win.
Rose-Hulman completed the HCAC regular season at 7-1 in league matches with only a loss to current conference leader Earlham. The Quakers stand 5-0 in conference play this season with three conference matches still remaining.
Rose-Hulman opened the afternoon by sweeping the three doubles matches. The No. 1 team of Brandon Benedict (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and Georges Adam (Barueri, Brazil/Colegio Pentagono), the No. 2 duo of Matt Conrad (Anderson, Ind./Lapel) and Nate Moore (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and the No. 3 team of Erin Miller (Stamping Ground, Ky./Scott County) and Ray Montgomery (Terre Haute/South Vigo) each captured victories.
In singles play, winners included Benedict, Adam, Conrad, Moore, Miller, and freshman Joe Kendall (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Covington Catholic).
Rose-Hulman returns to action with away matches against Vincennes and Oakland City University on Saturday. The Vincennes match begins at 9 a.m, while the Oakland City match begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (noon Central at the match site).
Rose-Hulman 9, Anderson (Ind.) 0
Singles competition
1. Brandon Benedict (RHIT) def. Drew Lovern (AU) 6-0, 6-2
2. Georges Adam (RHIT) def. Connor Whiteside (AU) 6-2, 7-5
3. Matthew Conrad (RHIT) def. Dillon Lockwood (AU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Nate Moore (RHIT) def. Ethan Hillman (AU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Erin Miller (RHIT) def. Andrew Gingerich (AU) 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 1-0 (12-10)
6. Joe Kendall (RHIT) def. Clay Combs (AU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Brandon Benedict/Georges Adam (RHIT) def. Drew Lovern/Connor Whiteside (AU) 8-5
2. Matthew Conrad/Nate Moore (RHIT) def. Dillon Lockwood/Andrew Gingerich (AU) 9-8 (7-2)
3. Ray Montgomery/Erin Miller (RHIT) def. Ethan Hillman/Eric Beck (AU) 8-1
