Box Score NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Berry 5, Piedmont 2
Records: Berry, 1-0; Piedmont, 0-1

ROME, Ga. - Piedmont men's tennis was unable to recover from a rough start and fell 5-2 to Berry indoors on Friday afternoon.

Playing their first dual match in the fall since the 2019-20 season, the Vikings took advantage of a strong start and held on late to claim the win in the season opener for both teams.

Playing the new Division III rules where doubles counts for only one point with the pro set to 8 being eliminated, the Vikings wasted no time jumping out front with a 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles and a 6-1 victory at No. 2 doubles. With the point in hand, the Vikings also prevailed 6-3 at No. 3.

Singles action saw the Vikings increase their lead to 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 2. However, the Lions fought back with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 6 from junior Connor Phelps.

The momentum was short-lived from Piedmont, as Berry closed out a win at No. 1 before the back-and-forth continued, as Mark Backeberg won a hard-fought first set before cruising in the second (7-5, 6-2) to make it 3-2 Vikings.

Needing both of the remaining matches, Piedmont's last hopes were Bryce VanOrder at No. 3 and Rohan Kavali at No. 4. VanOrder dropped a closely contested first set but was unable to rebound in the second in a 7-5, 6-2 triumph for the Vikings to clinch the match.

Kavali took the first set, but dropped a close second set and a lengthy third-set match tiebreaker as the Vikings' Samuel Chapman won 4-6, 7-5, 10-8.

Up next, the Lions will play a non-counting exhibition against Shorter tomorrow at 9 a.m.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

Doubles:
1. Noah Koch / David Daniel (Berry) def. Connor Phelps / Simon Johnstone (Piedmont) 6-0
2. Aiden Benoualid / Samuel Chapman (Berry) def. Yannick Wassmer Navarro / Mark Backeberg (Piedmont) 6-1
3. Leo Nedkov / Nicholas Koch (Berry) def. Charles Parnell / Bryce VanOrder (Piedmont) 6-3

Singles:
1. Noah Koch (Berry) def. Yannick Wassmer Navarro (Piedmont) 6-2, 6-3
2. David Daniel (Berry) def. Charles Parnell (Piedmont) 6-4, 6-2
3. Drayton Matus (Berry) def. Bryce VanOrder (Piedmont) 7-5, 6-2
4. Samuel Chapman (Berry) def. Rohan Kavali (Piedmont) 4-6, 7-5, 10-8
5. Mark Backeberg (Piedmont) def. Aiden Benoualid (Berry) 7-5, 6-2
6. Connor Phelps (Piedmont) def. Nicholas Koch (Berry) 6-1, 6-1

TURNING POINT:
- The Vikings established control with a dominant doubles performance.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Piedmont's No. 5 and No. 6 singles delivered the only two points of the match for the Lions, with Mark Backeberg and Connor Phelps delivering straight set victories.

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