LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A close sequence of doubles followed by wins from Bailey Raymond, Jefferson Page and Figge Pernfors in singles saw the Oglethorpe men's tennis team advance past Hendrix in the quarterfinals of the Southern Athletic Association tournament Friday afternoon. The Stormy Petrels repeated their road victory over the Warriors from the regular season with a 4-1 win in the tourney.
Despite a lop-sided trio of doubles decisions in the regular-season meeting, Oglethorpe and Hendrix duked it out in the opening wave of Friday's doubles. Hendrix swiped the first decision with a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles, then looked to secure the doubles point with a tight match at No. 2 doubles. Kellen Simmons and Pernfors, however, took the last two games to come away victorious 7-5. Oglethorpe then headed into singles with a 1-0 lead.
Page and Pernfors were the first two to turn in decisions in the singles, each with matching scorelines of 6-3, 6-0. After Hendrix took a win, its only point of the day, at No. 2 singles, Raymond secured the clinching point with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 3.
Simmons and Noah George, the only two matches left unfinished, had both split their opening sets and were battling it out in a third when Raymond clinched the decision.
Match Notes
- Raymond improved his singles record on the season to a team best 12-3 record.
- Page and Pernfors improved to 8-6 and 7-6, respectively.
- Simmons and Pernfors' clinching doubles victory improved their doubles record to 10-2 overall this season, tops on the team.
- Callum Searle and Zack Raymond helped secure Oglethorpe's doubles point with a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
Up Next
Oglethorpe faces No. 2 seed Rhodes Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. back here at Burns Park Tennis Center. The winner will advance to the championship match scheduled for Sunday.
