Bethany Tennis Falls Short in 5-4 Decision to Washington & Jefferson

April 20 – WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Bethany College men's tennis team fell for the first time in their last six matches, dropping a 5-4 decision to Washington & Jefferson College in a battle of teams tied for second place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference regular-season standings.

The Green & White found themselves behind the eight ball early, dropping all three doubles points for just the second time this season. Senior Kyle Booker (Forest Park, Ga./Forest Park) and sophomore Chris Ray (Henrico, Va./Mills E. Godwin) fell 8-6 to Greg Smith and Chad Dille at No. 2 doubles.

In the first flight of doubles action, Rhone Thrash (Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg) and Drake Berlin (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) dropped an 8-3 decision to Sean Carrick and Micah Byrum, while Marcus Hooks (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Jack Waters (Epsom, United Kingdom/Glyn School) fell 8-5 to Josh Hnat and Ethan Heller at No. 3.

In singles play, the Green & White mounted a furious comeback, taking four of the six points to pull the match close.

Waters continued his impressive play at No. 6 singles, defeating Heller by a 6-1, 6-1 score. The victory for the junior improved his singles mark to 7-1 on the season. Ray also avenged a loss in doubles play with a victory at No. 5 singles. The sophomore improved his record to a team-best 9-2, defeating Hnat by a 6-3, 6-4 score.

Both of the sets that required a tiebreak were also captured by the Green & White. Thrash got back on track with a victory at No. 1 singles. The freshman dropped the first set, 6-2, to Carrick, before rallying to take set two by a 6-3 score. Thrash then took care of the "pro-set" tiebreak with a 10-6 victory, improving to 9-3 on the season.

At No. 3 singles, Booker also earned his ninth individual win of the season, defeating Smith in three sets. The senior took the first set 6-4, before dropping set two by the same score. He then rallied to capture the point, earning a 10-8 win in the tiebreaker.

The host Presidents earned the victory over the Bison by taking wins at the second and fourth flights. Despite the Bison taking a 4-2 advantage in singles play, the Green & White fell by the 5-4 tally.

The Bison will be back in action on Monday, April 25, as they host the Tomcats of Thiel College. The match at the Mary Ewing Tennis Center is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.