NEWBERRY, S.C/SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Emory & Henry College Men's Tennis Team (1-4, 0-1 SAC) opened up its 2024 spring season with matches against Newberry College (3-6, 2-1 SAC) and Converse University (5-1) over the weekend. 

Saturday's Basics
FINAL SCORE - Newberry 6, Emory & Henry 1
LOCATION - Newberry, South Carolina
VENUE - Oakland Tennis Center
RECORDS - Emory & Henry (1-3, 0-1 SAC); Newberry (3-6, 2-1 SAC)

The Newberry Match
- Newberry swept the doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead.
- Freshman Will Bayliss (Totland, Isle of Wight, ENGLAND) took down his opponent by a 9-8 scoreline at No. 4 singles.
- Junior Branson Smith (Fletcher, N.C.) battled at No. 3 singles but fell in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 2-6.
- Freshman Niclas Naedele (Munich, GERMANY) came up just short 3-4 at No. 2 singles.
- Sophomore Kartik Parhar (Ludhiana, INDIA) put up a fight at No. 1 singles, but eventually lost 5-7, 4-6.

Sunday's Basics
FINAL SCORE - Converse 5, Emory & Henry 2
LOCATION - Spartanburg, South Carolina
VENUE - Sally Abney Rose Complex
RECORDS - Emory & Henry (1-4, 0-1 SAC); Converse (5-1, 0-0 Carolinas)

The Converse Match
- The doubles team of Parhar and Smith combined for a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, but the Valkyries took the other two doubles matches to jump ahead 1-0.
- Parhar won a thriller of a match at No. 1 singles, winning a pair of set tiebreakers to take the match 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3).
- Sophomore Diego Alvarez (Bogota, COLOMBIA) dispatched his opponent at No. 6 singles by a wide 6-1, 6-2 margin. 

Up Next
- Emory & Henry is back in action on Tuesday, March 5 when the Wasps host Midway University. First serve is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. from the Ida Jones Tennis Center in Bristol, Tennessee. 

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