MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - After a refreshing week of tennis at Hilton Head Island over spring break, the Berry College men's tennis team was back on the road as they traveled to Emory to face both Emory and Covenant in a double header. The Vikings fell to Emory 7-0 but bounced back to beat Covenant 4-3.

Game 1:
Berry anticipated a challenging match against nationally ranked Emory University, and Emory delivered as they demonstrated great consistency and strategic net play against Berry's second and third doubles teams. However, Jake Chapman / Aiden Benoualid at first doubles made it their priority to focus on holding serve, and they did so until the set score was 6-5. Both sides produced great tennis in the last game, with the last point showcasing all 4 players' net game, agility, and precision. As the point progressed, it ultimately ended with an error by Emory that allowed Berry's first doubles to win 7-5 and bring much needed motivation to the team.

Several of the singles matches remained in contention right up to the last games of their respective second sets, but Emory proved that they were always just a step ahead of Berry as they swept the singles. However, Jake Chapman had a tremendous showing as he battled for every point and traded winners with his opponent, narrowly losing 4-6, 4-6 with two breaks of serve. Aiden Benoualid at third singles and Leo Nedkov at fifth singles were also stand out performers who lost sets as a result of just a few breaks of serve, with Aiden demonstrating his strong baseline game and Leo showcasing his shot-making and creativity.

Game 2:
After a 0-7 defeat to Emory, the men mustered the strength to continue on, and to face Covenant in a tennis match under the Atlanta night lights. The doubles was played to clinch, and third doubles Leo Nedkov / Anderson Lambert were intent to make a statement, winning 6-0 with dominant serving and returning. Just like their doubles match against Emory, Jake Chapman / Aiden Benoualid focused on holding serve until 4-3, at which point they pounced and converted on key moments with aggressive net play to secure the break and win 6-3.

Just prior to the next set of matches, Jace Goode withdrew at second singles due to injury, thereby shifting everyone except first singles, Jake Chapman, up by one spot. With the momentum in their favor, Berry College sprung into action. Anderson Lambert demonstrated excellent counter punching, sliding across the hard courts and making sure that he got every ball back in a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Leo Nedkov at third singles impressed with his signature forehand winners in the first set, but lost 0-6 in the second set. After Leo took a break to mentally compose himself, he returned to court with renewed intensity, raising his level of play to win 10-5 in the third. Berry College now only needed 1 more match win, and Xavier Deckard at fifth singles delivered. His match was up and down, winning the first set with a 5-game win streak, followed by just as long of a loss streak. However, Xavier committed to playing safe tennis in the deciding 10 point tiebreak, extending the rallies and retrieving every shot. This forced his opponent to take risks that did not pay off, and Xavier won 10-4 to bring Berry the 4-3 overall match win over Covenant. Berry men will travel next to Piedmont University, where they will look to build on their win streak!