After having not played a match for two weeks, the Covenant women's tennis team got to shake off the rust and produced a sweep of Berea, 9-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Covenant Tennis Complex.
Covenant (3-2) had not played since falling to Hanover on Feb. 17. It was the season-opener for Berea (0-1). Although the two teams are members of the USA South, the match does not count towards league standings. The teams will meet again on March 17 in Kentucky with USA South ramifications on the line.
On Saturday, Covenant dominated from the start as the Lady Scots dropped just one point in doubles play. The No. 1 duo of Esther Eddy and Annie DeLuca took down Berea's Alicia Bedolla and Erin Goodpaster, 8-0, while Aly Hall and Jennie Spielman were also 8-0 winners over Jaden Johnson and Marrane Joy at No. 2. Mariah Westra and Kayla Brown rounded out the doubles sweep with their 8-1 victory at No. 3 over DeAnna Ellis and Agnes Dotse.
The rout continued in singles as three players earned straight set victories. Hall was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at the top spot over Bedolla and DeLuca also earned a 6-0, 6-0 at the second position over Goodpaster. Masha Lanska was the third Covenant player to sweep as she picked up her 6-0, 6-0 win over Ellis at No. 6.
Eddy cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Joy at No. 3, while Morgan McCain took down Dotse 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4. Mackenzie Jones fought off Johnson in the second set for a 6-0, 7-5 victory at the fifth flight.
Covenant will head to Orlando, Fla., area for a brief spring break trip. The Lady Scots will play three matches over Monday and Tuesday, beginning with a contest with Otterbein on Monday at 7 p.m. at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The Covenant men's tennis team extended its winning streak to five and remained perfect in USA South play after a 9-0 victory over visiting Berea on Saturday afternoon at the Covenant Tennis Complex.
It is the longest winning streak for Covenant (6-1, 3-0 USA South) since the Scots won six straight in 2009. The victory also pushed Covenant's conference regular season win streak to eight going back to last season.
The Scots cruised in doubles, dropping just two points. Matthew Harvie and Chris Cox took an 8-0 win over Michael Malpartida and Dakota Massucco at the top spot, while Logan Hull and Taylor Galloway were also 8-0 winners over Brandon Mitchell and Svyatopolk Carroll at No. 2. Trey Wood and Trey Wetjen finished off the doubles sweep with an 8-2 win over Sam Slater and Evan Day at the third flight.
In singles, it was a different mix of players that combined for the victory against a Berea (0-2, 0-1 USA South) team playing in just its second match of the year.
Hull played at the top spot for the first time this season and racked up 6-0, 6-2 win over Malpartida. Paxton Haggerty moved up to the second flight and took a 6-0, 6-0 win over Massucco, while Ben Tonkel was a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Mitchell at No. 3. Wood bested Slater in a sweep, 6-0, 6-0 at the fourth position.
Sam Jordan picked up his first collegiate win as he bested Carroll 6-0, 6-0 at the fifth flight. Tristian Smallwood got his first victory of the year with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Day at No. 6.
Covenant will be off until Friday, March 9 when it hosts Roanoke. First serve is set for 12 p.m. on Lookout Mountain.