MARYVILLE, Tenn. - Maryville men's tennis battled in a conference match against defending conference champions Asbury University at home on March 12th. With a much more competitive display than the previous season, and with many momentum shifts, the Scots fell 3-4 in the closest match of the season.
"We're not satisfied by any means, but I'm very proud of the guys for their efforts today," Head Coach Doug Corbett said.
Doubles had hot starts, with #2 pair Jackson Meyer and Benjamin Schneider quickly breaking the Asbury opponents to put them up in their set 1-0. #1 pair Steven Fitzsimmons and James Smith also got off to a hot start, breaking their opponents to go up 2-1. However, with a large swing in momentum for Asbury, the Scots couldn't hold on to their leads, and dropped all three doubles matches, despite all three being very close encounters.
Singles had the momentum swing back towards Maryville's way, with Grant Price roaring to a 6-1 6-0 win at the #2 position to even the score at one apiece. This marks his third win in a row, with his record now coming to 6-2 on the season. Shortly after, Smith continues his outstanding form by knocking off the Asbury opponent 6-2 6-3 at the #1 slot, now moving to four wins in a row and looking to be in great form. With the Scots being up in the score 2-1, Asbury found a way to grind their way back into the match, claiming a win and moving the score to two apiece. Half an hour later, Asbury found their way to a clinch, and the Scots lost at #4 and #5 singles. Fitzsimmons added another win for the Scots, winning in a match that embodied the spirit of the match 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 10-5 to put the score at 3-4 overall, with the match falling to Asbury.
"Our play in several spots was very strong, but doubles was the difference today," Corbett said. "Everyone on the team battled their hearts out, and now we get to use spring break to rest and reset before we get back to work."
The Scots look to take their good form into a spring break affair versus Earlham College on March 14th, with Maryville looking to even the score.
