Men’s tennis kicked off the spring season Jan. 23 with strong performances at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. The Cougars picked up three wins against players from nationally ranked teams Indiana and Harvard.  
Cougar co-captains junior Lukas Koncilia and freshman Mickael Trintignac picked up a doubles win against Indiana duo Alex Van Gils and Josh MacTaggart in the competition’s top flight with a score of 8-6.
Trintignac later joined junior Mickael Boyer to beat Harvard duo Davis Mangham and Alexel Chijoff-Evans 6-2, 6-2.
Freshman Tom Delme claimed the Cougars’ only victory in singles action against Harvard’s Josh Tchan.  Delme pulled off a win in the first set after one of the longest tiebreakers in NCAA history, at 22 points. Delme went on to win the second set with a score of 6-2.
“The biggest strength of this year’s team is the amount of depth that the team has.  Each one of our players has a chance to contribute and fight for a match at any position,” said Head Coach Jay Bruner.
The Cougars were scheduled to travel upstate next to take on Anderson University and Limestone College Feb. 6, but severe weather led to the cancellation of the match against Anderson and postponed their first dual match of the season against Limestone until Feb. 7.
The Cougars came ready to play Sunday, sweeping the Limestone Saints 7-0 with strong performances by the entire team.
Sophomores John Harden and Chris Toussaint claimed the Cougars’ first victory over Limestone’s Paulo Avila and Mike Stephenson with a score of 8-1.
Koncilia and Delme defeated Limestone duo Jordan Vicain and Christian Warnholtz 8-2.
Senior duo Joe Nicolazzi and Steven Myers completed the doubles sweep for the Cougars beating Henrick Nordquist and Miguel Lopez Zuniga 8-6.
The College finished strong in singles play with four Cougars defeating their opponents in straight sets including Harden’s 6-1, 6-3 victory over Limestone’s Avila, which clinched the match win for Charleston.
The Cougars will look to carry this momentum into their Feb. 12 home match at Patriot’s Point against Gardner Webb at 2 p.m.
“We are looking forward to our first home match for the men and women of the season, Bruner said.  “Also, we have a home match on March 19 against Ole Miss that will be a thriller. They are ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA, and are the highest-ranked team we have ever played on our home court.”
For more information on men’s tennis, visit CofCsports.com.