Charlotte, N.C. – The Davis & Elkins men's tennis team split matches with Johnson C. Smith University and Belmont Abbey College on a quick trip to North Carolina this past weekend. The Senators defeated JCSU on Friday by a 5-2 score before dropping two matches to the Crusaders on Saturday by identical 6-1 scores. The matches were the spring season openers for D&E as their record moves to 2-3 overall on the year.
'We finally had a chance to lace them up and play some competitive matches after a waiting a few weeks between competitions," said head coach Mark Walters. "We did a nice job on Friday at JCSU after a long drive, jumping out of the van and getting settled into things which can be a test for a young team. Then on Saturday we showed some solid flashes against Belmont Abbey, which is a deep team. Getting those reps in against a quality team is essential for our kids' improvement and growth."
Belmont Abbey is currently ranked 25
th nationally in the DII ITA rankings.
The highlights for the Senators on the weekend included strong showings from the #1 doubles team of
Duarte Correia and
Sean Maphosa, who went 2-1 on the trip and had tight matches across the board. The freshmen duo now has 4 wins this spring in tournaments and has showed good energy and resilience, according to Walters.
Sophomores
Filippo Buffo and
Santiago Ordonez also captured singles wins on the weekend, while teaming together to clinch the doubles point in the second match against the Crusaders with a 6-4 comeback win. Senior
Kyle Hawthorne also won his match against JCSU to complete the scoring with the Bulls and clinch the match Friday for the Senators.
"We have some guys who are starting slow, which is to be expected in February and with our prep time," explained Walters, who is still in his first full season at the helm. "I was impressed with
Duarte Correia and
Sean Maphosa and how they have stood up to some good competition early on. They have made it look comfortable and played some clutch points already, and that bodes well for us since they have a good future ahead of them as we rebuild the program," said Walters.
