CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.— The Drury Panthers took down 16^th ranked North Georgia in a 4-3 thriller that lasted nearly four hour in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Monday.
 
Drury, ranked 17^th nationally, improved to 7-1, while North Georgia dropped to 7-2.
 
The Nighthawks took a 1-0 lead, winning two of the three doubles matches. The deciding doubles match went to a tie-breaker and North Georgia's number two squad of Marcos Castellanos and Giulio Sassi clinched the point 7-6 (8-6).
 
Five of the six singles matches also went to a tie-breaker, but the Panthers won three of the five. Chuy Gonzalez, playing in Drury's number five position, was the only straight-set winner as he defeated Marcos Castellanos, 6-2, 6-4. Yaroslav Sharyy, Drury's number one singles player, won a 10-7 tie-breaker and Slyvain Garin-Michaud won his tie-breaker 10-6.
 
The match came down to the number three singles players, and Marlon Wilken, ranked 53^rd in NCAA-II, defeated Robin Eldin 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 1-0 (10-7) to deliver the win for the Panthers.
 
Drury's win marked the second time the Panthers have beaten a ranked opponent this year. Drury defeated 24^th ranked Northwest Missouri State on March 1.
 
The Panthers road trip continues on Tuesday as they take on Young Harris at 1:30 pm (CDT) in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
BOX SCORE
#17 Drury-M 4, #16 North Georgia 3
Mar 11, 2024 at Chattanooga, Tenn.
Singles competition
1. #40 Yaroslav Sharyy (DRURY-M) def. Joaquin Benoit (NGA-M) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
2. S. Garin-Michaud (DRURY-M) def. Giulio Sassi (NGA-M) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6)
3. #53 Marlon Wilken (DRURY-M) def. Robin Eldin (NGA-M) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 1-0 (10-7)
4. Christopher Cahour (NGA-M) def. Matthieu Gachon (DRURY-M) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
5. Chuy Gonzelez (DRURY-M) def. Marcos Castellanos (NGA-M) 6-2, 6-4
6. Eliseo Alcade Sangoy (NGA-M) def. Lukas Rieber (DRURY-M) 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (10-2)
 
Doubles competition
1. Joaquin Benoit/Robin Eldin (NGA-M) def. S. Garin-Michaud/Marlon Wilken (DRURY-M) 6-1
2. Marcos Castellanos/Giulio Sassi (NGA-M) def. Chuy Gonzelez/Yaroslav Sharyy (DRURY-M) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Alejandro Esquivel/Lukas Rieber (DRURY-M) def. Eliseo Alcade Sangoy/Christopher Cahour (NGA-M) 6-3
 
Match Notes
Drury-M 7-1; National ranking #17
North Georgia 7-2; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,1,4,6,2,3)
T-3:57 A-35