Scots End Season Triumphantly

To wrap up Maryville's fall season, the Scots traveled to Piedmont to compete in the Fall Foliage Classic. While there, Maryville won 17 out of 27 matches against strong competition in the form of conference opponent Piedmont University, future conference opponent Berry College, and Truett-McConnell University, who the Scots will play in the spring.

The format of this tournament was different to a head-to-head match, elongating the singles and doubles portions of matches over multiple days. On Friday, Maryville played Berry in doubles, Truett-McConnell in singles, and Piedmont in singles; Saturday had the Scots play Piedmont in doubles, followed by Truett-McConnell in doubles, then closing out the invitational by playing Berry in singles. 

Friday started with winning ways, sweeping Berry's doubles with wins from Steven Fitzsimmons and James Smith at No. 1, Field Myatt and Luka Romano at No. 2, plus Eli Cauthorn and Jackson Meyer at No. 3. Singles against Truett-McConnell followed with comeback wins from Fitzsimmons at No. 4 and Sergio Balsamo, clawing his way from down 0-6 in the first set to 6-3 in the second and 10-1 in the third to claim victory at No. 2. Myatt battled to a straight sets win at No. 1, and Jonathan Crane made quick work of his opponent at No. 5. Singles matches against Piedmont ended with wins from Smith at No. 1, Eric Vornhagen successfully beating his opponent in a nailbiter 1-6 6-3 10-5 at No. 5, and Gabriel Villalonga Serra blanking his opponent at No. 6. Maryville ended the day with 10 wins in 15 total matches played.

Saturday started with a competitive doubles match against Piedmont, with Smith and Fitzsimmons winning at No. 1 comfortably, but the Lions were determined to take the doubles point. Doubles against Truett-McConnell helped the Scots get back on track, sweeping the point. Smith and Fitzsimmons won yet again, Vornhagen and Meyer paired up at No. 2 to take the win, and Cauthorn and Villalonga Serra screamed back from down 0-4 to win 6-4 at the No. 3 position. To close out Saturday, singles against Berry led to wins from Smith, Romano, and Crane in very challenging matches. 

In total, the Scots came out on top in 17 of 27 individual matches. Combining the scores over the two days, the Scots battled ruthlessly against Piedmont, falling 4-5, but beat Truett-McConnell 7-2, and won against Berry 6-3. With that being the end of their season, they look to kick off their spring against Ohio Wesleyan University on February 13.