The Lynx tennis teams played their first round matches of the SAA tournament in Murfreesboro, TN.

The men started off the day with a 9:00 A.M. match against Birmingham Southern. This was a tough match-up for the Lynx, who barely edged BSC earlier in the season 5-4.

WIth the previous match on their minds Rhodes wanted to come out firing, not to allow BSC to gain any confidence. Rhodes did just that by taking #2 and #3 doubles in very tight matches. The new doubles teams of Eliot Blatt and Colin Perry won 8-6 at #2, while #3 doubles was won by Greyson Brilliant and Graham Sowden 9-8 (4). "Winning at number three doubles really gave us a lot of momentum going into singles play. The guys were pumped up and felt very confident, which showed as they took 5 out of 6 singles matches," said Coach Mann.

This gave Rhodes a 2-1 lead going into singles where they won 5 out of the 6 singles matches to make the final score 7-2. At the top singles spot, Sanders Phelps defeated Voges from Birmingham to avenge his loss from just a month ago, winning a decisive 6-2, 6-4 match in a match-up of two of the top three singles players in the SAA.

The men will play in the semifinals of the SAA tournament on Saturday at 9:00 A.M. against Oglethorpe University, who handed Rhodes a 7-2 loss just a few weeks ago.

The women's match followed the men. As the #2 seed,  the women faced Oglethorpe in the first round of play.

The Lady Lynx came out firing in the doubles and swept all three lines. The top doubles team of Maggie Donoghue and Emily Rizer set the mood for the entire day by defeating their opponents 8-1. It was a lot of the same great play at the other two doubles lines.

Going up 3-0 after doubles gave Rhodes all the momentum they needed to complete the sweep of Oglethorpe. The Lynx played consistent tennis to win all six single matches to make the final score 9-0 in favor of the Lynx.

The women move on to the semifinals of the SAA tournament facing Berry College. The Lynx squeaked by Berry with a 5-4 win a few weekends ago, so the women are preparing themselves for a real test on Saturday. It will be a very competitive and intense match.

GO LYNX!