LEXINGTON, Va. – After a ten win turnaround season, the #3 seed Hampden-Sydney tennis team met #2 seed Virginia Wesleyan in a re-match from earlier this season.  Back in April, the Tigers fell to the Marlins by a score of 8-1, but were looking to carry the momentum from their four match win streak into Saturday morning's ODAC semifinals.

In post season tournament competition, it is important to come out of the doubles with some momentum heading into round of singles.  Hampden-Sydney was hoping to do that, but Virginia Wesleyan was able to get two early points, after defeating Freshmen Henry Singleton (Richmond, VA) and John Kendrick (Birmingham, AL) 8-3 in the No. 3 match and then winning a hard fought No. 1 match in a tie breaker over Freshman Barrett Foster (Virginia Beach, VA) and Senior Tyler Brice (Rocky Mount, NC), 8-7 (7-2). 

However, the Tiger No. 2's, Freshmen Matt Kendrick (Birmingham, AL) and Taylor Fox (Virginia Beach, VA) earned a much needed point by taking their match to a tie breaker and winning, 8-7 (7-3), keeping them only one point behind, as the session ended.
The Marlins grabbed the first point of the singles as Fox fell in the No. 3 match by a score of 6-1, 6-0 and that was followed by Foster dropping No.1 in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. 

Unfortunately, they would only need one more point to secure the win and Virginia Wesleyan was able to earn it, as they won the No. 2 match oover Brice, 6-4, 6-1. 
With the semifinal loss, Hampden-Sydney's season comes to an end.  However, it was not without a number of positives.  The Tigers won ten games, after winning only one last season, and they gained valuable experience as a majority of the members of the program are freshmen.  Coach Balkin sees a bright future for Hampden-Sydney and he specifically wants to thank Senior Tyler Brice for setting the standard for the future of Tigers' tennis.