On Saturday, April 1, Covenant Men’s Tennis won a close competition against in-conference opponent, the Piedmont University Lions. It was a tough and tight match played on a beautiful April Saturday, and there was much excitement.
To start off the excitement, the visiting Lions had the pleasure of arriving just in time to catch the tail end of the Highland Games, occurring on the Intramural Fields right next to the tennis courts. The Lions watched, cheering and laughing, as Covenant students (some more successfully than others), attempted the infamous caber toss. But that appeared to be all the laughing that would occur for the Lions. Because, in the end, the Scots came out on top and with the last laugh.
To start off the match, in the doubles rounds, Ben Onufrock ’26 and Austin Dreslinski ’24, trounced their opponents 8 sets to 3, to win their round. Shortly after, the visiting Lions barely edged out Camden Lashley ’24 and partner Solomon Crouch ’24, to take a doubles set of their own. The Lions increased their lead, as Ethan Gibson ’23 and Gill Dunn ’23 lost a very close match 8-7, giving the Scots a 1 point deficit going into singles play.
That deficit did not last long. To start off singles play, #3, graduate student Ben Luke, defeated his opponent in two sets to even up the score at 2 points apiece. The Lions retook that lead, as Dreslinski was defeated by a very talented Alberto Nunez. The lead continued to waver, as Onufrock retied the score at 3 wins a piece, defeating Yannick Wassmer Navarro, a Piedmont freshman hailing all the way from Madrid, Spain. In this win, Onufrock clearly established the Scots as a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. Covenant retook their original lead for the first time as Gibson defeated his opponent, allowing the Scots to have breathing room for the first time all afternoon. The Lions overtook that room for breath, defeating Crouch in a close matchup to tie up the score at 4-4, leaving everything riding on the shoulders of Dunn. And, in miraculous fashion, Dunn defeated his opponent in the third set, to give the Scots the win, as his teammates rushed him.
This was a crucial win for the Scots as they head into the home stretch of the season and the conference playoffs. A quality home win against a conference opponent could not have come at a better time. The Scots take on 2 conference opponents next on the road. They play at Huntingdon on Thursday, April 13, followed by LaGrange on Saturday, April 15. The next weekend they then host Asbury followed by Maryville at the Covenant Tennis Complex. The Scots then will roll through the conference tournament and hopefully end up with a conference champions ring to wrap up an exciting year.