Bison Tennis Falls at Marietta
March 24 – MARIETTA, Ohio – The Bethany College men's tennis team competed for the first time on the road this season, falling in a hard-fought, 5-4 decision to Marietta College on Thursday afternoon.
The Bison trailed 2-1 after doubles action, with each of the three flights proving to be competitive matchups. The No. 1 doubles duo of freshmen Rhone Thrash (Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg) and Drake Berlin (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) came away with a point, defeating the Pioneers' Shane Spencer and Andrew Stone by a 9-8 score. Thrash and Berlin won the flight by taking the tiebreaker, 9-7. The win improved their record to 2-0 on the early season.
In other doubles action, the team of senior Kyle Booker (Forest Park, Ga./Forest Park) and sophomore Chris Ray (Henrico, Va./Mills E. Godwin) dropped an 8-5 decision to Muhammad Kingson and Alex Schaeffer at No. 2 doubles, while the No. 3 doubles team of Marcus Hooks (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Jack Waters (Epsom, United Kingdom/Glyn School) fell 8-3 to Brendan Adkinson and Tanner Sigman.
In singles play, the Bison captured three of the first four points to take a 4-3 advantage. Only three of the flights were won in straight sets, two of which were tallied by Bethany. Booker was the first Bison to earn a victory, pulling a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kingson at No. 3 singles, knotting the match at 2-2.
No. 1 singles was the next flight to finish, with Schaeffer defeating Thrash 6-4, 7-6 to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead. Schaeffer finished off the Bison freshman in the second set by winning the tiebreaker, 7-5.
Bethany would capture the next two points to take a 4-3 lead, including wins by Ray and Berlin. Ray's marked his first-career singles victory, defeating Stone 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.
Berlin moved his season singles record to 2-0, capturing a win over Spencer in three sets at No. 2 singles. Berlin won the first set 7-5, before falling in set two, 6-0. The freshman then responded well by taking the third set by a 6-3 score.
Needing just one point to seal the victory, both of the last two flights needed three sets to find a winner. Hooks found himself on the short end of a three-set decision, falling 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to Sigman at No. 4 singles.
Tied 4-4, the game was decided at No. 6 singles, as Waters performed well in his first collegiate match. The junior tallied a 7-5 win in the first set, before falling 6-2, 6-3 in the final two sets to Adkinson. The decision gave the host Pioneers the 5-4 victory, handing the Green & White their first loss of the season.
Overall, Berlin led the way for the Bison, as the lone Bethany player to capture a pair of points on the day. With his two wins, the freshman improved his overall record to 4-0 on the young season.
The Green & White will be back in action on Saturday, March 26, as they return home for a non-conference meeting with Penn Stste-Altoona. The matchup is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start.
