ATLANTA—The toughest opponent of the season brought out the best in the Oglethorpe men's tennis team Friday evening at Downing Howell Tennis Courts, as the Stormy Petrels played No. 8 Emory to a 5-2 decision. Oglethorpe won the doubles point for the early lead and looked to be in the hunt for an upset of the top-10 ranked Eagles but could not hold on.
The match also featured a big win for sophomore Kellen Simmons, who upset 12th-ranked Dean Kamenev in straight sets at No. 1 singles.
Match Highlights | Doubles
- Emory took the first doubles victory on court three, winning 6-3 to move within one win of the doubles point.
- Simmons and Figge Pernfors evened that out with a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles after winning four of the last five games to pull away.
- With the doubles point on the line, Sam Wasko and Jefferson Page bounced back from deficits of 3-0 and 5-4 to win 7-5 and clinch the doubles point for an early 1-0 lead.
Match Highlights | Singles
- Emory took over the lead after the first three singles matches finished, but Simmons turned in a 7-5, 6-2 win to bring the score to 3-2 with two close matches left to finish.
- Those two were Noah George, who had just finished a first set tiebreak, and Zack Raymond, who was on the way to his own tiebreak in the second set.
- Raymond would end up dropping the tiebreak to lose his match 6-4, 7-6 (5), then George would end up dropping his second set minutes later to drop his match 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Up Next
Southern Athletic Association play begins when the Stormy Petrels host Rhodes and Millsaps next weekend. Oglethorpe will host Rhodes Saturday and Millsaps Sunday, with both matches slated to begin at 11 a.m. here at Downing Howell Tennis Courts.
