By J.T. Mitchell, Staff Writer
On Wednesday afternoon at the Bruton-Guerry Tennis Center, the Sewanee men’s tennis team defeated longtime rival Washington and Lee University by a score of 8-1 to close out regular season play for the 2018 season.
The weekend prior was a huge one for the Tigers when they defeated Berry College to earn yet another Southern Athletic Association (SAA) regular season championship, but the team did not allow its mindset to be affected by the program’s sixth consecutive title.
“Coach always tells us to keep our focus on what’s next, so we were definitely prepared for W&L,” said Alejandro Becker (C’20).
Indeed, the Tigers’ preparedness showed as they began the day sweeping the three doubles matches. Highlighted by a huge win from Hayden Loeb (C’20) and two-time All-SAA player Jack Gray (C’19), Sewanee held a 3-0 lead going into singles.
In the no. 1 singles match, Gray was defeated by Washington and Lee’s Harry Shepherd (6-4, 6-0), before the Tigers would eventually destroy all chances of a comeback, finishing the day perfectly with wins from Andres Carro (C’20), Ryan Olps (C’21), Jordan Brewer (C’20), Jack Metzger (C’21), and Becker.
“The singles guys played with a lot grit, and because of that, they were able to come up big for the team,” said Loeb.
Following the 8-1 victory over the once ranked thirtieth Washington and Lee Generals, the Tigers still sit atop the conference with a 19-5 overall record.
“It has been a great season for Tiger tennis, but we still want more. We are really looking forward to this weekend and later on for whatever the game has to offer us,” said Becker.