The 40th-ranked Oglethorpe men's tennis team got their SAA season off to an excellent start Friday afternoon at the Downing Howell Courts, as they defeated a Berry team that's ranked 18th in the Atlantic South region in resounding fashion, sweeping them 9-0. The Stormy Petrels, who are currently ranked 13th in the Atlantic South, improved to 8-3 on the season with the victory and got their SAA campaign off to a 1-0 start.
The Petrels got things off to a great start at doubles, where the No. 1 team of senior C.J. Antonio and sophomore Rhys Richardson swept their opponents 8-0. Sophomore Judd Motz and senior Briton Richardson took down the No. 2 Berry duo 8-4. The No. 3 doubles team of freshmen Angel Llerena and Richard Johnson found themselves in a closer match, but they still prevailed 8-5 to move the dual match to the doubles competition with the Petrels holding a 3-0 advantage.
The singles portion got off to a great start, as national No. 23 Antonio got back to his winning ways in emphatic fashion with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles. Llerena followed by claiming victory for himself and the team next, winning at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-3 to give the Petrels their fifth victory of the dual match.
The Petrels continued to roll along after that. Motz dropped his first set at No. 2, but stormed back after that to claim a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (2) victory. Rhys Richardson swept his match at No. 4, 6-0, 6-0, while his brother Briton made short work of his opponent at No. 5, as well, winning 6-2, 6-0. Freshman Michael Allen ended the day by picking up his first career singles victory at No. 6, winning 6-4, 6-2 to close out the dual match.
"I was very happy with the way we played," said Oglethorpe head coach Peter Howell. "We continue to bounce back well from our loss on Tuesday, and this was an excellent win given the fact that Berry beat us in this match last year. It's always good to start the conference season with a win."
The Petrels will return to action Thursday when they travel to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, to take on Covenant at 4 p.m. After that, they'll re-enter SAA play next weekend against Birmingham-Southern and Millsaps.
