The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team improved its conference record back above .500 with a 6-1 victory over Coker.

The top two singles lines were hard fought victories for the Bears as Zachary Cox and Patrik Alvestrand both came from behind in some three-set thrillers.

At No. 1 singles, Cox dropped his first set in a 4-6 decision, but the sophomore was able to squeeze out a 7-5 second set result before dominating in the third set, 6-0.

For Alvestrand at No. 2 singles, the senior overcame a 2-6 first set loss to take the second set, 6-3. Instead of playing a full third set, the two competed in a 10-point tiebreaker in which Alvestrand came out on top in a 10-6 final.

Not all the singles matches were that exciting though as Rufus Plane and Mauricio Hernandez each captured straight-set victories.

At No. 3 singles, Plane got a crucial break in the first set before running away in the second set for a 6-4, 6-0 result. Meanwhile, Hernandez delivered at No. 5 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory; it is the graduate student’s first singles victory since Feb. 23 against Lees-McRae.

Lastly at No. 6 singles, Mattis Selde was a last-minute replacement, but handled the task by taking down his opponent in an 8-2 pro-set style match.

In addition to taking five of the six singles matches, the Bears also earned the doubles point after the top two doubles squads prevailed in their matchups. The top team of Cox and Vadym Rogynskyi went on to win their match in a 6-3 victory, while the No. 2 doubles team of Hernandez and Plane controlled the contest in a 6-2 final.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team will return to Hickory, N.C. to begin a four-game home stand on Friday, March 31 at 2:00 p.m. The Bears will begin the stretch by taking on Tusculum at the YMCA of Catawba Valley.