BLUEFIELD, Va. – UVa-Wise men's tennis opened up its spring championship season Sunday afternoon at Bluefield College with a 8-1 loss to the Rams (1-2, 0-1 AAC). The Cavaliers (3-4, 0-0 MEC) were only able to get one singles win in the match against the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and Appalachian Athletic Conference members.
 
UVa-Wise finished doubles play down 3-0 despite a competitive match at the No. 2 spot. Senior Oleg Kopychenko (Simferopol, Ukraine) and sophomore Viktor Tunnikov (Kharkiv, Ukraine) had a 5-3 lead on Bluefield's Carlton Tugman and Conor Whyte but late mistakes in the set cost the Cavs. Kopychenko and Tunnikov ended up losing the set 8-6, while senior Vladyslav Akimenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) and sophomore Andrii Rutnytskyi (Odessa, Ukraine) were defeated 8-1 at No. 1 doubles by the Rams' Lochlan Kitchen and Ben Holmes.
 
Sophomores Christopher Armistead (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Noah Aldridge (Pennington Gap, Va.) fell 8-1 at third doubles to Markel Aranberri and Patrik Martin of Bluefield.
 
In singles competition, the Cavs got their lone point of the afternoon when Kopychenko took down the Rams' Tugman 6-3, 4-6, (10-5) at the No. 3 spot. Rutnytskyi played a competitive second set at No. 2 singles against Bluefield's Kitchen but fell 6-3, 6-3. Both Akimenko and Aldridge dropped 6-1, 6-4 decisions at the No. 1 and No. 6 singles positions, respectively, after playing good second sets against the Rams' Aranberri and Whyte.
 
Bluefield's Holmes secured a 6-1, 6-1 win over Tunnikov at No. 4 singles, while the Rams' Martin defeated Armistead 6-0, 6-1 at the fifth spot.
 
The Cavs will now begin Mountain East Conference play Saturday in Wise for UVa-Wise's spring home opener. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Jim and Betty Humphreys Tennis Complex.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier men's tennis news, statistics, complete schedule and more.
 
Full Match Results
Bluefield College 8, UVa-Wise 1
 
Singles
1. Markel Aranberri (BLC) def. Vladyslav Akimenko (WISE) 6-1, 6-4
2. Lochlan Kitchen (BLC) def. Andrii Rutnytskyi (WISE) 6-3, 6-3
3. Oleg Kopychenko (WISE) def. Carlton Tugman (BLC) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Ben Holmes (BLC) def. Viktor Tunnikov (WISE) 6-1, 6-1
5. Patrik Martin (BLC) def. C. Armistead (WISE) 6-0, 6-1
6. Conor Whyte (BLC) def. Noah Aldridge (WISE) 6-1, 6-4
 
Doubles
1. Lochlan Kitchen/Ben Holmes (BLC) def. Vladyslav Akimenko/Andrii Rutnytskyi (WISE) 8-1
2. Carlton Tugman/Conor Whyte (BLC) def. Oleg Kopychenko/Viktor Tunnikov (WISE) 8-6
3. Markel Aranberri/Patrik Martin (BLC) def. C. Armistead/Noah Aldridge (WISE) 8-1