SIGNATURE WIN: Late in the regular-season schedule (April 18), the Monarchs traveled to Danville, Virginia, to take on host Averett University in a USA South Athletic Conference match in which the host Cougars were fighting for a spot in the league's postseason tournament. Averett broke in front 3-1 with only a doubles victory at the No. 3 spot from Hayden Wilfong and Joshua Deutsch on the Methodist side of the ledger. The Cougars claimed the first singles point but from that point forward it was a Green and Gold rush as the Monarchs won the next four singles points -- all in straight-set wins -- to clinch the team victory. Trent Harner initiated the run with a win at No. 2, surrendering only two games, followed by Jacob Oehser's tying win at No. 5. Coleman Baker pushed Methodist in front for the first time with his triumph at No. 3, leading up to Wilfong's 6-2, 7-5 match-clinching win at No. 4. The Monarch's clinched the No. 2 seed in the East Division while ousting Averett from tournament contention.

SEASON NOTES: Methodist swept both Covenant College and Piedmont College, 5-0, in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively, of the USA South tournament, before falling to then-No. 23 North Carolina Wesleyan College in the championship final … A pair of 9-0 victories over visiting Greensboro College on March 30 ignited a four-match streak of shutout wins, followed by an 8-1 win over Averett and a 7-2 win over William Peace University that stretched the winning streak to six … The Monarchs swept the opening trio of doubles matches nine times during the season … Hayden Wilfong closed the regular season with a five-match win streak, and was up a set in his next two matches, the quarterfinal and semifinal of the league tournament, before Methodist ended those bouts with 5-0 wins to advance in the bracket.

POSTSEASON AWARDS:

• USA South All-Tournament Team: Baker, Harner
• USA South All-Conference: Wynn Johnson (first team); Johnson (first-team East Division), Coleman Baker (first-team East), Trent Harner (first-team East)
• USA South All-Sportsmanship Team: Max Linder

LOOKING AHEAD: Head coach Kemper Baker does an excellent job of scheduling matches that both challenge his team, as well as allowing for experience-building court time for players not usually among the top-six singles players or top-three doubles tandems. As a result, 18 different players recorded singles results during the year, which should help Baker replace a senior class that included Wynn Johnson and Jacob Oehser, stalwarts of the lineup over their four-year careers. Of the lineup that contested N.C. Wesleyan in the USA South tournament championship match, Harner, Baker, Wilfong, Henry Murray and Kayhahn Alikhani are all expected back for the 2019-20 campaign that saw the program fall just one win shy of an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.