Bison Men's Tennis Secures Winning Season with Sweep of Geneva

April 13 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College men's tennis team continued their hot streak, capturing a 9-0 win over Geneva College on Wednesday afternoon at the Mary Ewing Tennis Center. The sweep of the Golden Tornadoes gave the Bison their first winning season since 1999.

The Bison earned a 3-0 lead following doubles action as the Green & White swept the doubles points for the fifth time in their last six matches. Senior Kyle Booker (Forest Park, Ga./Forest Park) and sophomore Chris Ray (Henrico, Va./Mills E. Godwin) made quick work of Evan Shaw and David Streit at No. 2, winning by a score of 8-1.

Juniors Marcus Hooks (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Jack Waters (Epsom, United Kingdom/Glyn School) also tallied a win with an 8-3 decision at No. 3 doubles, defeating Caleb Hoal and Kaleb Gatz. At No. 1 doubles, freshmen Rhone Thrash (Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg) and Drake Berlin (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) nailed down an 8-4 win over Eric Abbott and Jesse Hooke.

With the win, Thrash and Berlin improved their doubles mark to 8-1, ensuring the two a winning record. They are just the fourth duo since 2009 to achieve a winning mark in doubles play, and only the second to achieve the feat at No. 1 (Dustin Opalka and Jared Patrick finished 7-4 in 2011).

In singles play, the Green & White surged to the victory, tallying all six singles points in straight sets. Waters tallied his best performance of the season, not surrendering a point to Gatz in a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6.

Both Ray at No. 5 singles and Berlin at No. 2, surrendered just two points apiece as Berlin defeated Hooke by a 6-1, 6-1 score. Ray also won 6-1, 6-1, upending Hoal. Berlin's victory ensured the freshman a winning record in singles action, marking the second-straight year that the Bison have had a singles player finish over .500 (Mason Schoonover in 2015). Ray's win, meanwhile, moved his mark to 6-2 on the year.

Other scores for the Green & White, included Thrash's 6-3, 6-0 win over Abbott at No. 1 singles. Hooks defeated Streit 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4, while Booker upended Shaw, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3. Thrash moved to 7-2 in singles action, while Hooks and Booker improved to 7-2 and 6-3, respectively.

The 9-0 sweep marked the Bison's first over a conference opponent since April 9, 2014, when the Green & White defeated Thiel College. The win also improved Bethany's record to 7-2 on the season, ensuring a winning mark for the first time since the 1999 season. That year the Bison posted a 15-1 record.

Bethany will look to continue their momentum into their last four games of the season, all of which come against conference opponents. Their next matchup is scheduled for Friday, April 15, as they host the Titans of Westminster College. The match is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.