The Oglethorpe men’s tennis team continued their spring break trip to Orlando, Florida, Monday with their third victory of the season, knocking off Lake Forest with a 6-3 victory at Lake Cane Tennis Center. The win improved the Stormy Petrels to 3-1 on the season.
The dual match against the Foresters got off to a good start for the Petrels, as they took two of the three doubles matches to begin the day. Senior C.J. Antonio and sophomore Rhys Richardson took down the No. 1 doubles match 8-3. The Petrels fell in the No. 2 match, but freshmen Richard Johnson and Michael Allen took the No. 3 match 8-3 to give the Petrels the 2-1 lead.
Headed into singles, No. 23 Antonio made quick work of his opponent at No. 1, winning 6-3, 6-2. That turned out to be the match that clinched the victory in the dual match. Senior Briton Richardson performed exceptionally well at No. 5, winning 6-1, 6-0, while his brother, Rhys, overcame a highly-competitive first set at No. 3, winning his match 7-5, 6-2. Sophomore Judd Motz continued the run of Petrel victories, winning his No. 2 singles match 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (5) by taking a 10-point super tiebreak. Freshmen Michael Santaloci and Richard Johnson were competitive in the first sets of their matches, as well. Santaloci fell 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 and Johnson 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6.
“I was worried about us maybe coming out a little flat after last night’s tough 5-4 loss to Coe,” said Oglethorpe head coach Peter Howell. “We were going up against an improved Lake Forest team. We came out ready to play, though. We took two of the doubles matches and C.J. and Briton gave us the push needed in securing a 6-3 win. We’ll now get ready for a couple of challenging matches tomorrow against Wheaton (Illinois) and Messiah.”
The Petrels will take on Wheaton and Messiah Tuesday in Kissimmee, Florida, playing the former at noon and the latter at 7 p.m.