MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Rhodes men's tennis team suffered their first defeat at home today after a crushing loss to the Millsaps Majors, 5-4. 
 
Although a long, hard fought match, the Lynx came up short after leading in doubles yet again.
 
Rhodes went up early as Brilliant/Blatt and Sowden/Vacheron took care of business at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.  Sowden/Vacheron lead with an early break and were able to extend their lead against Ananth/Doles.  Blatt/Brilliant were broken early, but quickly broke Rees/Brndick back and maintained their momentum throughout match. 
 
Olivier/Patton played valiantly at No. 1 position against Marti Vertiz/Centurion, pushing them deep into the match with inspiring serve/volley tennis.  However, the Millsaps pair came up with exceptional pick-up vollies and solid returns late in the tie-breaker, securing the lone doubles point for the Majors.  The Lynx were up 2-1 after doubles as they headed out into their singles matches with optimism.
 
The Majors came out determined as they challenged the No. 11 ranked SAA team in singles at home.  Eliot Blatt found his range and unloaded a fury of forehand winners at No. 1 position.  Greyson Brilliant faced a tough opponent in Marti Vertiz from Mexico, who played a more clay court, ground stroke style from the back of the court.  Greyson had good looks in the first and second set, being up 30-0 on Marti Vertiz's serve, but Vertiz proved his worth as he was able fend off Brilliant's offense in straight sets. 
 
Albert Vacheron came up against Alex Centurion of Mexico at the No. 3 position.  After trailing a set, Vacheron turned it around in the second, dictating from the back court and approaching the net.  Vacheron got the early break in the third, but couldn't close out the double break and let Centurion back in the match.  Each player traded breaks and Centurion made his move at 3-4 in the third set, holding and breaking to take the lead, eventually serving it out for the match.
 
Graham Sowden displayed guts and grit as he battled against Avinash Ananth with the overall match tied at 4-4.  Sowden lost the first set but battled back after being down in second set 4-5 to wining the tie-breaker (7-4).  Sowden found himself down again in the third set 4-5 and willed himself to a tie-breaker.  After an unbelievable exchange of passing shots, drop shots and errors, Sowden found himself 5-3 in the match. 
 
Ananth proved his worth as he slowly worked one point at a time, leveling the match at 5-5 in the tiebreaker.  After a long fought point, a let court off of a wild forehand from Ananth dropped over the net, giving the majors match point.  One was all that was needed as Ananth closed out a huge victory for the Majors. 
 
The Lynx face the Birmingham Southern Panthers on April 12 at the Dunavant Tennis Complex.      


Millsaps College 5, Rhodes College 4
Singles competition
1. Eliot Blatt (RHODES) def. Charles Rees (MILLSAPS) 6-1, 6-2
2. Diego Marti Vertiz (MILLSAPS) def. Greyson Brilliant (RHODES) 6-3, 6-2
3. Alex Centurion (MILLSAPS) def. Albert Vacheron (RHODES) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
4. Avinash Ananth (MILLSAPS) def. Graham Sowden (RHODES) 6-4, 6-7 (0-4), 7-6 (5-0)
5. Emerson Brundick (MILLSAPS) def. Luis Ardila (RHODES) 6-1, 6-0
6. Daniel Olivier (RHODES) def. Sean Solomonoff (MILLSAPS) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Diego Marti Vertiz/Alex Centurion (MILLSAPS) def. Daniel Olivier/Jack Patton (RHODES) 9-8 (2-0)
2. Eliot Blatt/Greyson Brilliant (RHODES) def. Charles Rees/Emerson Brundick (MILLSAPS) 8-4
3. Graham Sowden/Albert Vacheron (RHODES) def. Avinash Ananth/Cameron Doles (MILLSAPS) 8-4

Match Notes:
Millsaps College 13-3
Rhodes College 8-6-1