Ben Prescott, sports editor
The Berry College women’s tennis team brought the brooms out with a big win on Apr. 2 at the Rome Tennis Center against Rhodes College.
The doubles team took care of business with wins in all three lines.
Before the match, the team also took time to celebrate the seniors on the team.
Senior Allison Ivey led the way with Juliana Mascagni in line one, posting an 8-2 score.
After the match, Ivey reflected on her four years with the program, includng her role as a leader for the team.
“Playing tennis at Berry has been an extremely rewarding experience,” Ivey said. “Not only have I improved my playing level with the help of Coach Hightower and our grad assistant, Ian [Slaughter], but I have had the opportunity to learn from and lead the amazing girls on the team.”
Ivey went on to say how she will cherish everything Berry tennis brought in her four years with the program.
“The friendships and life skills Berry tennis has taught me will stay with me for a lifetime. I could not have asked for a better experience, and I am extremely honored to have been recognized at senior day this past weekend,” Ivey said.
Graduate student Kathryn Barker (20C) and freshman Lauren Masteller represented the Vikings in line two with an 8-4 win. Sophomores Adelle Yanez and Emma Kruger ended the doubles competition with another 8-4 win in line three.
In the singles competition, Ivey continued to dominate. In line one, the senior posted set scores of 6-2 and 6-1, respectively. Mascagni had a strong first set with a score of 6-2. Mascagni fell by a score of 4-6 in her second set, only to bounce back and win her tie-breaker round.
Barker also played in a competitive singles match. After initially falling 0-6 in her first set, Barker came back to beat her opponent with a score of 6-4. With the sets tied up, Barker carried her momentum from the second set to win the tie-breaker set.
Yanez took care of business in line four with scores of 7-5 and 6-1. Freshman Lauren Masteller posted a dominant win with set scores of 6-2 and 6-4, with Kruger following suit by scores of 6-2 in both sets.
After this past weekend, the Vikings are now 7-3 overall with a 3-0 conference record. They are tied for first place with Sewanee: The University of The South in the current conference standings. Looking forward to the rest of their schedule, the Vikings are in good shape to have a strong finish in the conference. There are some tough match-ups in the future against Centre College and Sewanee, but the women’s team has proved that they are the team to beat.
The men’s team fell to the Rhodes College Lynxes in a close match on Apr. 2. Lines two and three of the doubles competition fell to the fate of a tie-breaking round. Line two went to the Lynxes and freshman Noah Koch and sophomore Carsten Balao rallied back to bring a win to the Vikings in line three.
Koch took this momentum into his singles match, which included a close win in the first set by 6-4. The freshman continued his hard fought battle into the second set, with a win of 7-5.
Junior Connor Murphy rebounded from the doubles competition with a win in line five of the singles match. In his first set, Murphy took control of the match with a score of 6-2. The junior finished the match with another confident set with a score of 6-4.
Balao finished the match off with a great win in line five, recording scores of 6-4 and 6-2.
With the men’s weekend matches concluding, the Vikings are now 3-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the conference. The men’s team will have to secure some wins in their upcoming matches to have a strong finish in the conference.
The men’s tennis team will be back in action against Huntingdon College on Friday, Apr. 8. The first match is set to begin at 2 p.m at the Rome Tennis Center.
The women’s team will play against SAA foe, Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday, Apr. 9 at 11 a.m.