By JESSICA FINLEY
Staff Writer
Piedmont’s men’s tennis team dominated USA South opponent LaGrange College, as the Lions won all nine match-ups on Wednesday, March 20, in Demorest.
The win records Piedmont’s second shutout of the season.
To start, Piedmont set the tone with a 3-0 victory in the doubles competition, outscoring LaGrange 8-1, 8-1, 8-0.
Koen Gottenbos and Nick Hallberg took the first doubles match against Lagrange’s with an 8-1 win, followed by two more Piedmont victories in doubles.
Gottenbos said, “I tie my shoes a certain way when I get ready for a match. I knew we were going to win, I had no worries.”
Hallberg, who played with a sore shoulder said, “It was a pretty easy defeat.”
Patrick Steck and Chris Davidson defeated LaGrange’s second doubles team 8-1, and Mason Riza and Joel Silverberg eased into an 8-0 win to close the third doubles match.
In singles, the Lions went on to win 6 straight singles match-ups.
Leading the team in the No. 1 position, Steck defeated his opponent Alex Glass 6-3, 6-1.
Silverberg crushed his opponent by two games of 6-1, and Trey Martin closed his match 6-1, 6-1.
Chris Davidson, Riza and Jay Evans also defeated their USA South opponents.
The six shut outs brought Piedmont to an overall 9-0 victory against LaGrange.
On Thursday, March 22, the men’s team travelled to Covenant College, a non-conference foe, where the Lions grabbed another 9-0 shutout.
“It’s always good for us to go on the road and pick up a win,” said Silverberg, who played in the No. 4 position and won both his games 6-0.
“The guys came out and just took care of business. We use matches like these to prep for the conference opponents we’ll see in the next couple of weeks.”
Following the two shutouts, the Lions are 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference. The team returns to the court March 27 against Berry College in Rome, Ga.
Piedmont’s last home match of the season is on April 3 at 2:30 P.M. against Berry College.