Marie Collop, Campus Carrier Assistant Sports Editor
After beginning their season with seven wins, the Berry men’s tennis team lost their first games on March 28 and 29 to in-conference opponents Millsaps College and Birmingham-Southern College respectively.
Head coach Clay Hightower said he was happy with the effort and results from those matches, given that the team didn’t have their top player for either match.
“With our full team, we are much stronger and would have been the favorite based on results on common opponents,” Hightower said. “This is part of tennis though.”
Walking away from the two losses, Hightower said the team was able to look at different combinations in doubles and singles matches.
This, he said, would help the team greatly in the future.
Individually speaking, Hightower highlighted the performances of three players.
“Senior Logan Yerbey had a great win while number one singles against Millsaps. Also, Daniel Alligood in singles and doubles as well as doubles specialist, Jake Pullen, played exceptional tennis and both had big wins,” Hightower said.
From the beginning of the season, the team’s goal is to finish in the top four of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).
“The SAA is very deep and strong on the men’s side and has been since the inception of the conference,” Hightower said. “When healthy, we are in the right mix with those teams, with the exception of Sewanee, who is a strong favorite to win the conference again this year.”
In order to accomplish their goal, Hightower focuses on the importance of getting healthy. In addition to this, he emphasizes an improvement in the team’s doubles play.
Hightower also touched on the importance of having no class during the SAA tournament.
“We played some very good tennis over spring break,” he said. “Not having the stress of classes makes a big difference. Our players have to use their time wisely during the week and stay on top of their classes so we can fully focus on tennis during SAA match weekends.”
The team travels to Arkansas on Friday to play Hendrix College.