Men's Tennis Finishes Third at PAC Championships
April 30 – ERIE, Pa. – Led by a second-place finish from sophomore Chris Ray (Henrico, Va./Mills E Godwin), as well as five, third-place finishes, the Bethany College men's tennis team tallied a third-place finish (34 points) at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships.
The Green & White posted their highest finish at the PAC Championships since the turn of the century, as the Bison saw every athlete compete in the second day of the championships for the first time since the 1999 campaign.
Ray earned a second-place spot at No. 5 singles, competing in the championship match against Grove City's Nate Roberts. Ray competed well in the match, but fell 6-3, 7-5 to finish as runner-up in the singles flight. With the loss, Ray finished the season with an overall record of 12-3 in singles action.
Helping the Green & White achieve their 34 points, three different players earned victories in the consolation match of their respective flights to walk away with third-place finishes. Freshman Rhone Thrash (Parkersburg, W. Va./Parkersburg) picked up a win at No. 1 singles, defeated Washington & Jefferson's Sean Carrick in three sets. Thrash took home the first set (6-1), before dropping set two 6-3. He then rallied to take the match by posting a 6-4 win in the third and decisive set.
In the fourth flight of singles action, junior Marcus Hooks (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) also needed three sets to walk away with the third-place win. The junior rallied in his match against W&J's Chad Dille, dropping the first set 6-4, before rallying to take sets two and three by scores of 6-1 and 6-2.
At No. 6 singles, Jack Waters (Epsom, United Kingdom/Glyn School) finished his first season with the Bison on a high note, defeating Thiel's Jon Fennick in straight sets (6-2, 6-2), to earn third place.
The Green & White also played in all three of the consolation matches in the doubles brackets, walking away with two third-place honors.
Thrash and partner Drake Berlin (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) coasted to an 8-1 victory over Westminster's A.J. May and Kornel Foremski to capture third. Hooks and Waters also earned third place at No. 3 doubles, defeating W&J's Ethan Heller and Josh Hnat by an 8-5 score.
Bethany finished the 2016 season by capturing the most wins that the program has seen since the 1999 campaign. The Green & White finished third in the regular season standings, and, with their 34 team points, finished just two shy of Saint Vincent College for second.
The overall winner of the PAC Men's Tennis Championship went to Grove City College, who finished the tournament with 54 total points. Along with their multiple top finishes, the Bison were also honored with the PAC Team Sportsmanship Award during the closing ceremonies.
