The Oglethorpe men's tennis team began its spring break trip in central Florida with a 9-0 loss to No. 7 Amherst Sunday evening at the Lake Cane Tennis Center in Orlando. The Mammoths just proved too much for the Stormy Petrels on the day, as they won all nine matches in straight sets.

In doubles, the top-line team of sophomore Walker Benson and senior Richard Johnson competed hard but fell 8-3. The No. 3 doubles team of junior Zoe Raymond and sophomore Calvin Schneider fell 8-2 while the No. 2 team of senior Michael Santaloci and freshman Connor Sisson fell 8-0.

In singles competition, Benson found himself up against the 18th-ranked player in the country in the top-line matchup and fell 6-0, 6-1. Santaloci went up against the No. 25 player in the nation and lost 6-0, 6-3 in the third singles match. Senior Matthew Magee competed well in the first set of his match, but fell 6-4, 6-0 on the No. 5 line. Johnson fell 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2, while Raymond lost 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4. Schneider fell 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6.

"We battled hard against the No. 7 Amherst Mammoths," said Oglethorpe head coach Peter Howell. "As  is often the case in tennis, the final scores did not necessarily represent the competitiveness of the matches. Our guys were outmanned by stronger, quicker players and fought as well as they could. We just couldn't conclude the opportunities we had. I was extremely impressed with the play of Matthew Magee as he led 4-3 in the first set before his opponent stepped it up to another level. It is great for us to play a top 10 team and get a look at a truly great squad. Matches like this will do nothing but help us down the line."

The Petrels will be back in action on Monday for two matches. They'll take on Belhaven at 9 a.m. from Lakeland before going back to Orlando for a match against St. Scholastica at 7 p.m.