LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Despite winning the doubles point and taking an early 3-1 lead, the John Brown University men's tennis team suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to Grand View (Iowa) on Friday evening (March 14) at Genesis Health Clubs – South.
The Golden Eagles (7-6) fell behind early when the Vikings captured the first doubles flight as Abbot Haner and Pierre De Buretel de Chassey handled sophomores Andrew Aylor and Grant Hinkle, 6-1, at the third position. John Brown responded with sophomore Negad Ezzat and freshman Lucas Machado securing a 6-4 win at the second flight, followed by sophomore Brady Dick and junior Spencer Keeter claiming a narrow 7-5 victory at the top doubles matchup to secure the doubles point for JBU.
Keeter quickly doubled the Golden Eagles' advantage with a commanding 6-1, 6-0 win at the second singles slot. Grand View finally found the scoreboard when De Buretel de Chassey outlasted Dick, 6-2, 4-6, 10-5, at the third flight, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Ezzat put John Brown on the brink of victory with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 10-8 win at the top singles position, extending the lead to 3-1. However, the Vikings rallied by winning the final three singles matches to complete the comeback.
Adrian Reyes defeated Machado, 2-6, 6-2, 10-5, at the fourth flight, before Haner downed freshman William Prochazka, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6 singles to level the match at 3-3.
The dual was decided at the fifth position, where Diego Castillo secured Grand View's victory with a 6-3, 7-5 win over junior Hayes Stark, sealing the 4-3 result.
The Golden Eagles return to action Saturday afternoon (March 15) when JBU takes on both Baker (Kan.) and Missouri Valley at Genesis Health Clubs – South, slated to begin at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
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