FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. The Methodist men's tennis team saw its six-match win streak come to an end on Sunday afternoon, falling in a tightly contested 4–3 non-conference match to Virginia Wesleyan University at the Gene Clayton Tennis Center.
JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Virginia Wesleyan def. Methodist, 4–3
Records: Methodist 7–3; Virginia Wesleyan 6–5
Location: Gene Clayton Tennis Center; Fayetteville, North Carolina
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Virginia Wesleyan claimed the early advantage, taking two of three doubles matches to secure the opening point.
- At No. 1 doubles, Harry Crokam and Aaron Zoubek fell 6–0, while the No. 3 tandem of Kofi Bowe and Andrew Waddill dropped a 6–2 decision. The Monarchs avoided the doubles sweep at No. 2, where Matthew Hurley and Decklan Rayner rallied from an early deficit to defeat Frederik Bethkenhagen and Timothy Gitomirski, 6–4.
- In singles play, Zoubek quickly evened the match at 1–1 with a 6–3, 6–2 victory over Josh Buckland at the No. 4 position.
- Virginia Wesleyan regained the lead following a retirement at No. 6 singles, but Rayner responded for the Monarchs with a 6–3, 6–2 win over Hovo Madanyan at No. 5, tying the match at 2–2.
- The Marlins pulled ahead for good by claiming the next two flights. Bowe fell 6–3, 6–0 to Jed Platts at No. 2 singles, and at the No. 3 spot, Crokam dropped a hard-fought three-set match. After taking the opening set 6–0, Crokam was edged in the final two sets by Sebastien Muller with identical 6–3 scores.
- Hurley added one final point for Methodist at the top position, earning a 7–6 (7–5), 6–4 victory over Ayaan Choudhary. After falling behind early in the first set, Hurley battled back to force a tiebreaker and carried that momentum through the second set.
UP NEXT
Methodist opens USA South play on Wednesday, March 25, hosting North Carolina Wesleyan University. First serve is scheduled for 3 PM.
