The Oglethorpe men's tennis team found themselves in what, on paper, should've been an even matchup against the regionally-ranked Rhodes Lynx Saturday at the Downing Howell Courts. However, the Stormy Petrels came out on fire and proved too much for the Lynx, blowing them out 8-1 on the day. The victory improved the team to 10-4 on the season overall and 3-1 in SAA play.
The Petrels got off to an excellent start in doubles as senior C.J. Antonio and sophomore Rhys Richardson, the seventh-rated doubles team in the Atlantic South region, made quick work of the Rhodes No. 1 doubles team, 8-3. The other two doubles matches went Oglethorpe's way, as well, as senior Briton Richardson and freshman Michael Allen took the No. 2 match 8-6 while the No. 3 team of freshmen Angel Llerena and Richard Johnson took their match by the same score.
With a 3-0 lead headed into the singles portion of the match, the Petrels clinched the victory fairly quickly. Rhys Richardson defeated his opponent 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 and Antonio, the 23rd-ranked singles player in the nation, was very impressive against a solid opponent at No. 1, winning 6-0, 6-2 to put the Petrels up 5-0 and clinch the dual match.
After that, Motz picked up a solid victory at No. 2, 6-1, 6-4, while Briton Richardson came through with another win at No. 5, 6-4, 7-5. Freshman Michael Santaloci came back from a set down to take out his opponent at No. 6, winning a third-set super-tiebreak 10-8. Overall, he won 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (8). The lone Petrel loss came at No. 3, where Llerena fought valiantly but lost 7-6 (3), 7-5.
"This was a solid team victory as we took it to regionally-ranked Rhodes," said Oglethorpe head coach Peter Howell. "I was very pleased with the play of Michael Allen and Briton Richardson, as their win at No. 2 doubles gave us a sweep and great momentum. Rhys Richardson has been a rock for us as the No. 4 singles spot in the lineup. C.J. Antonio dominated a player that took him to a third-set tiebreaker last year, as well. We played today like we are capable of playing and took care of business. This was a very satisfying team win."
The Petrels will now take on Hendrix on Sunday afternoon from the Downing Howell Courts. They'll get started at approximately 12:30 p.m.
