Bethany Men's Tennis Triumphs Over Penn State - Altoona

March 26 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College men's tennis team (2-1) captured wins in all six singles flights, defeating Penn State – Altoona by an 8-1 score on Saturday afternoon at the Mary Ewing Tennis Center.

Bethany captured two out of the three points in doubles play, earning wins at both No. 1 and No. 2. Freshmen Drake Berlin (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) and Rhone Thrash (Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg) posted their third-straight win to open the season, defeating Conner Saltzer and Carlos Cevalios 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. 

At No. 2 doubles, Kyle Booker (Forest Park, Ga./Forest Park) and Chris Ray (Henrico, Va./Mills E. Godwin) moved their season record to 2-1 on the year, defeating Jonathan D'Arcy and Thomas Graden. 

Leading 2-1, the Bison took complete control of the match, capturing all six wins, five of which came in straight sets. 

Junior Jack Waters (Epsom, United Kingdom/Glyn School) posted his first collegiate win, capturing No. 6 singles over Tony Vergari without dropping a point (6-0, 6-0). The win pushed Waters' overall record to 1-1 on the young season. 

Other straight-set winners in the match included Berlin at No. 2 singles, Booker at No. 3, Marcus Hooks (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) at No. 4 and Ray at No. 5. 

Berlin improved to 3-0 in singles play, and 6-0 overall, defeating Cevalios 7-5, 6-3. Booker took down D'Arcy 6-2, 6-2, while Hooks moved to 2-1 on the year with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Graden. 

Ray captured his second-straight singles victory, defeating Albright 6-2, 6-1. Thrash then completed the singles sweep for the Bison, defeating Saltzer at No. 1 singles in three sets. Thrash dropped the first set 6-3, before rallying to take set two by a 7-6 score (including 7-5 in the tiebreak). He then completed his second singles win of the year, winning a pro set 10-8. 

The victory for the Green & White pushed their season record to 2-1 on the early season. It marks the first time since the 2007 campaign the Bethany has opened the year with two wins in their first three matches.

The Bison will look to keep their momentum going as they travel to Muskingum University on Monday, March 28. The matchup with the Muskies is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.