FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Tuesday's USA South Athletic Conference men's tennis match opened under early-evening clear skies and finished under the lights of the Gene Clayton Tennis Center where
Hayden Wilfong provided the clinching point at the No. 4 singles spot in Methodist's 8-1 victory over visiting Averett University.
A sweep of doubles action pushed the Monarchs, ranked 15th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Division III Atlantic South region rankings, ahead 3-0, after which
Wynn Johnson set up Wilfong for the match point by winning his bout at 1-singles.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Methodist def. Averett, 8-1
Records: Methodist 9-10 (4-1 USA South), Averett 7-4 (3-2)
ITA Rankings, Atlantic South: No. 15 Methodist, No. 18 Averett
Location: Gene Clayton Tennis Center; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Methodist's trio of doubles pairings provided the kick start to the match, sweeping each of their three matches.
- Wilfong and Kayhahn Alikhani rolled 8-1 at 3-doubles and Johnson and Jacob Oehser won an 8-3 decision at No. 2. Trent Harner and Coleman Baker at the No. 1 spot were pushed to the limit but finished off an 8-7 win over Nicolas Yanes and Patrick Shields for the Methodist sweep.
- Johnson's fourth team point came in commanding fashion as he served out for the victory over Yanes, 6-3, 6-0.
- Wilfong took his opening set, 6-3, before he, too, served out for the win at 6-4 in the second set.
- Henry Murray added a straight-set 2 and 2 win at No. 5, Baker won a tie-break in his second set to close out a 6-4, 7-6(2) match at 3-singles, and Harner ended the evening on a service break to triumph 4 and 4 at No. 2.
NEXT UP
- Methodist makes the short trip up the road to Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday afternoon for a conference match against host William Peace University, a team that the Monarchs defeated 9-0 at home on April 3.
- Averett's Cougars travel on Thursday to Rocky Mount, N.C., where they will play N.C. Wesleyan College in a USA South match.
