In their first match since returning from spring break, the Oglethorpe men's tennis team picked up where they left off in earning a 6-3 win over Covenant Wednesday afternoon at the Howell Courts. 

 

Freshman Walker Benson and junior Richard Johnson won at No. 2 doubles, 8-2, and freshman Calvin Schneider and junior Michael Santaloci won at No. 3 doubles by the same score. The Petrels dropped the No. 1 match when freshman Elijah Bullock injured his ankle and was unable to continue. He and doubles partner Dustin Bowie were forced to retire, so the Petrels went into singles with a 2-1 lead.

 

Santaloci got things started off right in singles play, winning 6-1, 6-0 to extend the Petrel lead to 3-1. They dropped the next two matches at No. 1 and No. 2, which knotted the score at 3-3. Sophomore Zoe Raymond, playing at No. 5, gave the Petrels a 4-3 lead by picking up a 6-2, 6-0 win. Johnson clinched the dual match for the Petrels by winning his match at No. 3, 6-2, 6-4, giving them the decisive fifth point. Benson finished off his opponent at No. 4, 7-5, 6-4, to complete the scoring. 

 

Oglethorpe head coach Peter Howell commented after the match, "Our depth won it for us today. We won two of the doubles points, and our bottom two-thirds of our lineup won it for us in singles."

 

The win improved the Petrels record to 7-3 overall. They will play again on Monday at Piedmont in their final match before getting into SAA play against Berry on March 24. After the Piedmont match, all but one of Oglethorpe's remaining eight regular-season contests will be against SAA competition.