Hendrix men spend long hours in tennis split
The Hendrix College men’s tennis team began competition on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and ended Sunday morning at 12:43 a.m., earning a split between two in-state opponents.
In the morning the Warriors (2-3) topped John Brown 8-1, but fell to the University of the Ozarks 5-4 in a match that lasted more than four hours. Against the JBU Golden Eagles (0-2), Hendrix swept all three doubles, including senior Ben Thomas and junior Udai Garimella’s 8-1 victory over Luke Pascoe and Alex Baker at the No. 2 slot. The Warriors also won the top five singles matchups, with Thomas earning a 6-0, 6-0 sweep over Louis Mukolwe at No. 4. Against the Ozarks Eagles (2-1), Hendrix started with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Thomas and Garimella once again teamed at the No. 2 position to defeat Tom Lowe and Bill Blake 8-1. Senior Kent Dunson and freshman Bob Berardi won No. 3 doubles with a 9-8 tiebreaker. In singles, Thomas completed his perfect day by defeating Scott Eibes 6-0, 6-2. Senior Eli Harpst also picked up a victory at No. 5 over Michael Skimbo 6-3, 6-1.
The No. 1 singles match between Warrior senior Michael Gardner and the Eagles’ Todd Turner lasted more than two and a half hours. Turner pulled out a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory. The match came down to the third set in number six singles where U of O’s Greg Knaggs defeated freshman Nick Berardi, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
