FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Guilford College men's tennis team (3-5, 2-3 ODAC) battled hard on the road Wednesday afternoon but came up short against a tough Methodist University (6-2, 1-0 USAS) squad at the Gene Clayton Tennis Center in non-conference play.
The Monarchs jumped ahead early by securing the doubles point with victories on courts two and three.
Henry Austin (Winterville, N.C.) and
Emmanuel Oye (Clayton, N.C.) dropped their match at court two, 6-1, to Matthew Hurley and Decklan Rayner. In the third flight,
Evan Wong (Greensboro, N.C.) and
Rylan Tuten (Asheville, N.C.) kept it close but ultimately fell 6-3 to Drew Guarnieri and Ethan Carlyle. Guilford's top duo of
Andres Mercedes (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and
Brandon Hermes (West Hartford, Conn.) provided a bright spot, earning a 6-3 victory over Wills Belser and Harry Crokam to prevent a full sweep
In singles play, GC struggled to shift the momentum in their favor. Oye delivered Guilford's only point of the match with an authoritative 6-3, 6-1 victory over Rayner at court five. In flight one, Hermes put up a fight but fell 6-4, 6-0 to Hurley. Austin kept things competitive at No. 2, but ultimately fell to Belser by a tally of 7-5, 6-1. Tuten battled at No.3 before dropping a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Corkam, while Wong pushed Carlyle to the brink in the second set at court four but came up short, 6-3, 7-5.
Turner Johnson (Oak Ridge, N.C.) rounded out singles play for Guilford but was unable to overcome Christian Tihanovich in flight six, falling 6-1, 6-1.
The men's tennis team will look to bounce back into the win column as they return to action on Friday, March 28th, as they travel to Shenandoah University. First serve is set for 3 PM.
#GoQuakes
