GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Guilford College men's tennis team opened its 2025 season with a 6-1 loss to Belmont Abbey College on Thursday afternoon at the Dorothy Ragsdale McMichael '37 Centennial Class Courts.
GC saw action in six singles and three doubles contests throughout the day.
Andres Mercedes (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) competed in flight A,
Brandon Hermes (West Hartford, Conn.) competed in flight B,
Henry Austin (Winterville, N.C.) in flight C,
Rylan Tuten (Asheville, N.C.), participated in flight D,
Evan Wong (Greensboro, N.C.) in flight E, and
Emmanuel Oye (Clayton, N.C.) played in flight F.
Belmont Abbey set the tone early by capturing all three doubles matches. The duo of Samuel McGregor and Matthew Orozco handed Mercedes and Hermes a 6-2 defeat in flight one. In flight two, Jon Bayo and Joshua Mayhew bested Austin and Oye, 6-3. In the third doubles match, Jesus Espinoza and Xabier Aguirrezabal took down Tuten and Wong, 6-1, giving the Crusaders 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Mercedes provided the lone bright spot for Guilford in singles action, delivering a top tier performance. The junior battled through two competitive sets, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Marcus Bergelin in the first flight, putting the Quakers on the board.
However, Belmont Abbey controlled the remainder of the match. In flight two, Bayo defeated Hermes 6-1 in the first set and 6-2 in the second set, while Mayhew followed with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Austin in flight three. Tuten fell in a hard-fought matchup against Orozco. Set one ended with a score of 6-2, followed by a score of 6-3 in the second set. McGregor secured a 6-1, 6-4 win over Wong in the fifth flight. Peyton Williams rounded out the scoring for the Crusaders with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Oye in the sixth flight.
Guilford aims to defend its home court once again when it hosts Montreat College (N.C.) on Feb. 12, with first serve set for 2 p.m.
#GoQuakes
