Men's Tennis (2-3) Splits Four Matches in Hilton Head, Wins Final Two on Spring Trip

The Wheaton College men's tennis team went 2-2 in Hilton Head, South Carolina, winning the final two matches on its annual spring trip. The Lyons fell 7-2 against Division II Brevard College of North Carolina on March 8 and by a narrow 5-4 margin versus Ithaca College of New York on March 9. However, the Blue and White rallied from a 3-0 hole for a 5-4 win over the West Virginia-based University of Charleston on Tuesday before downing Malone University of Ohio, 6-3 on Wednesday.

Against Brevard, Wheaton picked up its lone points in the top two singles positions, as freshman Neall Oliver (Portland, ME/Deering) and junior James Little (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) earned three-set victories in the first and second slots, respectively.

The Lyons took a 2-1 lead after doubles against Ithaca thanks to wins by the tandems of Little/Oliver and senior Nii Manfoi Davies (Town & County, MO/The Principia)/junior Kyle Hudgins (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge), but Wheaton received only two singles wins. Sophomores Harry Altman (Riverdale, NY/The Dwight School) and Brian Krantz (Milford, CT/Joseph A. Foran) each notched straight-set victories during singles play.

Wheaton's stunning comeback against Charleston was made possible by singles victories from Altman, Krantz, Little, Oliver and sophomore Gregory Poulin (Boxboro, MA/Home Schooled). Altman and Little each gutted out three-set wins, while Krantz's triumph clinched the team victory.

During the Lyons' match against Malone, the tandems of Little/Oliver and Davies/Hudgins notched wins, while Altman, Hudgins, Krantz and Poulin each triumphed in straight sets during singles.