MISENHEIMER, N.C. In a tightly contested outing on Tuesday, the Methodist men's tennis team narrowly fell to Pfeiffer University away from home, suffering a 4-3 defeat against the Falcons.
JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Pfeiffer def. Methodist, 4–3
Records: Methodist 8–5 (0–2 USA South); Pfeiffer 14–2 (3–0 USA South)
Location: Knapp Tennis Center; Fayetteville, North Carolina
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Harry Crokam and Aaron Zoubek secured a win in the No. 2 doubles match, knocking out their opponents by a score of 6-2. However, the remaining doubles matches fell in favor of the Falcons, with Matthew Hurley and Decklan Rayner dropping the No. 1 match 7-6 (7-4 in the tiebreaker), and Billy Johnson and Andrew Waddill succumbing to a 7-6 loss as well (8-6 in the tiebreaker).
- Down 1-0 entering singles, the Monarchs fell behind 3-0 after losses by Johnson and Waddill in the No. 5 and No. 6 matches, respectively. Johnson fell in sets of 6-1, 6-2, while Waddill fell 6-2, 7-5.
- Next to finish was Rayner, who claimed a win for Methodist in the No. 4 singles match, beating his opponent 6-4, 6-2. Behind him was Crokam, who earned set wins of 7-5 and 6-2 to defeat his opponent in the No. 2 match. Winning at No. 1 singles was Hurley, who after dropping the first set 6-3, came back with set wins of 6-4 and 6-2 to tie the match at 3-3.
- The match-deciding contest came down to court No. 3, where Zoubek won the second set 7-5 after falling behind with a 7-5 loss in the first set. Pfeiffer's Jayden Wellman claimed a 6-2 victory in the third set to secure a hard-fought win for the Falcons.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs take on non-conference opponent Johnson & Wales University (N.C.) at home on Friday, hosting the Wildcats for a 2 p.m. match.
