JACKSON, Miss. - Maryville's men's tennis team played their last regular season match of the year against Millsaps College on Saturday, April 18th, looking to even the series score between the two schools. With a strong effort from lower in the lineup, the Scots took the win 5-2 to end their season on a high note, in preparation for the postseason.
Doubles was a strong point for the Scots, with #1 pair Steven Fitzsimmons and James Smith proving their prowess yet again, beating their opponents by a 6-2 scoreline. With the doubles matches being tied at one apiece, #2 pair Jackson Meyer and Field Myatt prevailed to clinch the point for the Scots with a 6-3 scoreline.
After the strong start in doubles, the match had a couple of strong momentum swings towards each team. Millsaps quickly re-tied the score at 1-1, but then Grant Price broke the standstill with his win at #2 singles, breaking down his opponent 6-4, 6-3 to put the Scots at 2-1. The Scots then got an extra push by Benjamin Schneider to set up a clinch. Schneider, playing at #4 singles, won his match 6-2, 7-5 in epic fashion, after being down 0-3 and 3-5 down in the second set, to put the Scots at a 3-1 scoreline. Millsaps tried to claw the score back to even, making the match 3-2, but it wasn't enough after Eric Vornhagen won his match at the #5 singles slot and pushed the Scots to a clinch. Vornhagen, winning with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 10-1, lost his first set and was down 1-3 in the second before becoming red hot and winning the next 5 games in a row, and then taking his 3rd set home to complete the win for the Scots. Gabriel Villalonga Serra at the #6 singles position also collected a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win to make the scoreline 5-2 for the Scots.
This concludes a historical season for Maryville's men's tennis program, highlighted by their placement within the CCS. They finished with their best conference record (4-2) in school history, putting them in second place with a three-way tie. This year also was the best record by any men's tennis team in school history, with their regular season ending at 11-6. This couldn't have been done without key wins against Piedmont University, winning 4-3 and beating them for the first time in school history, and getting revenge on many schools that beat the Scots in 2025, including Southern Virginia, Earlham, Belhaven, and evening the series score against Millsaps after the Scots were defeated in 2024.
The team, led by seniors Jonathan Crane, Meyer, and Smith, had many key performers that led to the Scots success this season. In singles, it was Price, possessing the best individual season by a Scot with a record of 15-2; his last loss being against Pfeiffer on February 28th. Smith and Myatt also had great singles seasons, holding down the top of the lineup to give the Scots consistent results match in and match out, with Smith's singles record being 11-4 and Myatt's being 8-5. Fitzsimmons and Vornhagen also had great impacts for Maryville as freshmen, with Vornhagen going 7-3 in singles and Fitzsimmons holding a record of 10-4 respectively. In doubles, Fitzsimmons and Smith held down the #1 position for the entire year and had a record of 11-5 together. Combined with Meyer and Myatt at #2, who held a record of 7-2 together as a team, they helped the Scots significantly improve a weaker area of their team. Price and Schneider also had a good year in doubles, with Price's record being 9-5 and Schneider's record being 7-5.
The Scots now await the CCS Tournament, located in Murfreesboro. While the Scots finished tied for second place, their seeding in the tournament remains unknown, and thus meaning the date of their next match is also unknown.
