ATLANTA – The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels bounced back from a cold, tough weekend to defeat the Belhaven Blazers 8-1.

Domination was the theme of the day, with Sydney Dattilo recording a 6-1, 6-0 victory in No. 2 singles, Alyssa Merletti winning 6-1, 6-0 in No. 3 singles, and Izzy Forster winning 6-2, 6-2 in No. 1 singles. Brianna Ali faced quite a challenge against Belhaven's Lillian Williams in No. 4 singles, but Ali ultimately won 7-5, 3-6, 10-3, persevering in a super tiebreaker.

Doubles partners Forster and Dattilo, the reigning Southern Athletic Association doubles players of the week, recorded an 8-4 victory in No. 1 doubles, mirrored by Ali and Merletti in No. 2 doubles. 

Monday's victory followed the Petrels' first loss on Saturday, when the team played at NCAA Division II Young Harris College. Although the match resulted in a loss for Oglethorpe, Forster and Dattilo won the last two games to record an impressive 7-5 win in doubles.

Match Notes

• Oglethorpe is now 3-0 against Belhaven since 2019 
• The Petrels maintained their perfect home record, now 3-0.
• Forster and Dattilo were named SAA doubles players of the week after their Young Harris performance. 
• Forster and Dattilo improved to 5-0 as a doubles pair, all at No. 1.
• Dattilo and Ali lead the team in singles victories with four each.

Up Next

The Stormy Petrels will begin their weekend at Piedmont on Friday, March 17, at 4 p.m. The next home match will also be Oglethorpe's SAA opener, as the Petrels host Millsaps on Saturday, April 1, at 1 p.m.