Piedmont men roll past LaGrange in tennis quarterfinals

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- The Piedmont College men's tennis team took control early in a 9-0 shutout of 5th seed LaGrange College in the USA South Championship Tournament to move on in postseason play.<br /> <br /> Entering as the tourney's No. 4 seed, Piedmont took all singles wins in straight sets as the Lions picked up their 11th win of the 2014 season. <br /> <br /> Taking an 8-2 win at the #1 doubles spot was the pairing of Matthew Metzger and Mason Riza who move to 8-6 on the season having won their last three doubles decisions. A tight 8-6 decision at the #2 doubles spot went to the pairing of Christopher Davidson and Robbie Werner who move to 8-3 when playing #2 doubles together. The final doubles win went to the senior duo of Joel Silverberg and Patrick Steck as they took an 8-3 decision at the #3 spot, their third straight win together.<br /> <br /> In singles action, the Lions picked up Trey Martin's win at #3 singles first as the junior went 6-1, 6-0 in straight sets. Metzger's 6-1, 6-4 win at the top singles slot came next before Silverberg's 6-1, 6-1 win at the #2 singles spot sealed the deal for PC. For Martin, the win is the team-high 12th for the All-Conference selection while Metzger and Silverberg picked up their 10th and 11th wins respectively. <br /> <br /> The 9-0 win moves Piedmont to 11-6 overall and is the 8th shutout victory of the team's 11 wins on the season. Piedmont has not dropped a single decision in its last three matchups with conference members after 9-0 wins vs. Averett and Greensboro last weekend at Burgen Tennis Courts.<br /> <br /> The Lions will now move on to the semifinal round of the USA South Championship Tournament in Rocky Mount and face the top seed and tourney host North Carolina Wesleyan College. PC dropped a 9-0 decision to the Battling Bishops earlier in the season with that shutout coming on March 21st. Tomorrow's semifinal match between the two will start at 2:00 pm on the campus of NC Wesleyan.