Men's tennis opens season at Beren Invitational

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

MARIETTA, Ohio (March 25) - The Bethany College men's tennis team opened the 2017 season with a win and two losses at the Beren Invitational, hosted by Marietta College Friday and Saturday.

The Bison (1-2) were defeated 7-2 by Defiance on Friday and 5-4 by Penn State-Altoona on Saturday morning, before picking up a 6-3 victory over Muskingum to close out play on Saturday afternoon.

Junior Chris Ray (Henrico, Va./Mills E. Godwin) won all three of his singles matches and teamed with senior Jack Waters (Epsom, United Kingdom/Glyn School) to go 2-1 at the No. 3 doubles position. Ray defeated Defiance's Tory Savage (6-4, 6-1), Penn State-Altoona's Jonathan D'Arcy (8-3) and Muskingum's Yozabro Igari (6-0, 6-0) to stay perfect on the season.

The sophomore duo of Drake Berlin (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) and Rhone Thrash (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) went 2-1 at the top doubles position, earning wins against both Penn State-Altoona and Muskingum.

Individually, Berlin finished the weekend 2-1 at No. 2 singles with a pair of straight-set 6-0, 6-0 wins over Penn State-Altoona's Luke Key and Muskingum's Markus Hofstetter.

The Bison will continue their season on Monday, March 27 when they head to Berea, Ohio to take on Baldwin Wallace for a non-conference match set to begin at 3:30 p.m.