HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker Cobra men's tennis team made history on Thursday (Apr. 11) night, as they captured the Conference Carolinas regular season championship for the first time ever. The Cobras defeated the Trojans of Mount Olive 5-4, finishing 10-0 in league play and moving to 15-4 overall.

It was a grudge match from start to finish, as neither team was willing to concede to the other. The Cobras took the early 2-1 lead with Andre Staab and George Handy winning at No. 1, 8-5, and James Corfield and Martin Moncayo earned a 9-8 (8-6) win at No. 3.

In singles action Staab and Tom Sizeland gave the Cobras a 4-1 advantage with victories at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.  A pair of Trojan wins at No. 3 and No. 5 trimmed the Coker lead to just one, 4-3 with two matches remaining. 

After falling behind in the first set, Corfield battled his way back to win the second set 6-4 and the third 6-1 at No. 4, to give Coker not only the match victory 5-4, but also its first ever conference title. Corfield also extended his singles match winning streak to 14.

Coker will return to the courts for its final regular season match of the season on Saturday at home against Wingate University. The match will begin at 11 a.m. at the Coker tennis courts.