The Oglethorpe men's tennis team dropped a tight decision to regionally-ranked Rhodes Saturday afternoon on the Howell Courts, falling 5-4. The Stormy Petrels took two of three doubles matches, but couldn't hold onto the lead in singles play. With the defeat they fell to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. Both losses have been 5-4 decisions, the other coming to Berry a week ago.
The Petrels got out to a great start as the No. 1 doubles team of senior
Judd Motz and sophomore
Dustin Bowie played perhaps their best match of the year in picking up an 8-5 win. Junior
Richard Johnson and freshman
Walker Benson picked up an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles to give the Petrels a 2-0 lead. Tied 6-6 at No. 3 doubles with the opportunity to sweep doubles play, the No. 3 tandem of junior
Michael Santaloci and freshman
Calvin Schneider could not hold on, dropping an 8-6 decision, and the Petrels led 2-1 going into singles play.
The visiting Lynx took the first three singles points at Nos. 2, 5 and 6, giving them a 4-2 lead. Motz fought hard against regionally-ranked Ritwik Chatterjee at No. 1, losing in a tiebreaker in the first set, but he dropped the second set 6-0, clinching the match for the Lynx at 5-2. Soon after, the Petrels were able to pick up tiebreak wins at Nos. 3 and 4, providing the final score. Sophomore
Zoe Raymond won at 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (9) at No. 3, while Benson won 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (7) at No. 4.
Head coach
Peter Howell had this to say after the match: "I was very excited that we got a good start in the doubles and was hoping we could pull an upset over regionally-ranked Rhodes. However, they were just too strong and deep in the singles. I was very pleased with the play of
Judd Motz. His game is getting better each week. I was proud of the way Zoe and Walker fought to take those two matches and make the final 5-4."
The Petrels next three matches will all be on the road, starting with Piedmont on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. The Petrels will then travel to SAA foes Birmingham-Southern and Millsaps on Saturday and Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi, respectively.
