Facing two quality teams on Saturday at home, the Covenant men's tennis team defeated Huntingdon 5-4 in the day's first match before suffering a 5-4 loss to non-conference foe Berry in the second match.
The split moves Covenant to 7-8 on the year and the win over Huntingdon improves the Scots' USA South mark to 3-1.
Against Huntingdon, the Scots took a 2-1 lead after doubles as the No. 2 tandem of Micah Fox and Logan Hull gave Covenant the lead with a 9-8 (7-5) win over the visiting Hawks' Justin McQueen and Ryan Runager. Matthew Harvie and Chris Cox took down John Jones and Bailey Burns 8-3 at the top spot.
In singles play, Covenant received victories from the top two spots in the lineup. Harvie eased past Jones 6-1, 6-0, while Cox was a 7-6, 6-1 winner over McQueen. Huntingdon mounted a rally in the later matches, but Fox won 6-1, 6-3 over Burns at the No. 4 spot to clinch the conference victory for Covenant.
In a tough match against regional foe Berry, the Scots were up to the challenge as the match was decided on the final singles match. Covenant had a 4-2 lead in the match, but the visiting Vikings were able to win all three of the remaining singles matches to take the win.
The Scots had to rally first, though, as they fell behind 2-1 in doubles play. Hull and Fox again picked up a win at the No. 2 position as they defeated Ryan Miner and Chase Gooding 9-7 to tally Covenant's first point.
The first three singles matches to finish all went to Covenant. Harvie bested Matthew Blakely 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 1 spot and Cox was a 6-3, 7-6 winner over Griffin Davis at No. 2. Hull gave Covenant its 4-2 lead with a three-set victory over Miner 4-6, 6-1, 10-8. But Berry would rally and Gooding knocked off Fox 4-6, 6-0, 11-9 at No. 4 to break the 4-4 match tie and give the victory to the Vikings.
Covenant will travel to Demorest, Ga., on Tuesday to face Piedmont. Match time is 3 p.m.
The Covenant women's tennis team remained unbeaten in USA South play with a 9-0 victory over Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon before losing to regionally-ranked Berry 5-4 later in the day on Lookout Mountain.
Covenant is now 7-6 overall on the year and 2-0 in conference play.
The Lady Scots cruised past Wesleyan in the day's first match. In doubles, Claire Luger and Gracie Smith combined for an 8-1 win at the No. 1 spot over Emilie Leveille and Centara Nulf. Annie DeLuca and Jennie Spielman were also 8-1 winners at their No. 2 match against Amber Davis and Keondria Epps, while Esther Eddy and Sarah Ragsdale shutout Gillian Pritchett and Rebecca Cheng 8-0 at No. 3.
In singles, DeLuca was victorious 6-3, 6-4 at the top spot over Leveille to clinch the match win for Covenant. Eddy picked up a 6-2, 6-2 win over Davis at No. 2 and Mackenzie Jones knocked off Nulf in a 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) decision at the third position. Morgan McCain was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Epps at No. 4, while Sarah Ragsdale won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5. Masha Lanska capped the clean sweep of the visiting Wolves with her 6-1, 6-1 win over Cheng at the No. 6 spot.
In a match featuring two teams regionally ranked by the ITA, Berry was able to escape with a 5-4 win in the day's finale. Berry came into the match ranked 12th in the region, while Covenant was 18th.
Covenant fell behind 2-1 in doubles as Eddy and Ragsdale registered the lone win in the portion with their 8-6 victory over Karleigh Dills and Kelsey McCray at the third flight.
In singles play, Covenant would fall behind 4-1 as Berry claimed the top two spots. But the Lady Scots would rally back and tie the match at 4-4 with singles wins at Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Eddy was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over McCray at No. 3, while Spielman took a 6-2, 6-0 win over Emmie Cornell at No. 5. Smith tied the match at 4-4 with her 6-3, 7-5 victory against Sage Havrilla at No. 4. Berry's Dills defeated McCain 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 to claim the win for the Vikings.
Covenant travels to Demorest, Ga., on Tuesday for a USA South match against Piedmont. Match time is set for 3 p.m.