JBU men's tennis loses pair

CONWAY -- Junior Fernando Hurley kicked off the 2016-17 season in furious fashion, posting a pair of wins at both singles and doubles action, but the John Brown University men's tennis team couldn't pick up a win against a pair of NCAA III teams last weekend at the Hatcher Tennis Center, falling in a pair of 7-2 decisions.

Despite the losses to Hendrix and University of the Ozarks, the Golden Eagles (0-3) rode a pair of Hurley singles victories in both contests. More impressively, Hurley picked up his first-career singles No. 1 win over Dillon Murray of Ozarks by a 7-5, 6-4 final. He used a 6-4, 6-4 win at the second slot against Hendrix's Kiran Chakka to kick off the spring season on Friday.

Hurley and sophomore Nathan Kuykendall teamed up at the top doubles slot on both days, grabbing 8-5 and 8-4 wins, respectively. Kuykendall pushed Karthik Garimella of Hendrix at the No. 1 singles slot to a tiebreak, overcoming a 6-4 first-set loss with a 6-4 second-set win of his own. Garimella prevailed 10-4 in the tiebreak.

At the fifth slot on Saturday, sophomore Axel Betancourt also battled in a bitter tiebreak affair. Ozarks' Reid Birch grabbed a quick 6-3 win in the first set, but Betancourt responded with a 6-4 win in the second. Birch held off Betancourt in his first collegiate tennis action with an 11-9 win in the deciding set.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday in Winfield, Kan. against Central Christian (Kan.) at 3:30 p.m.

Hendrix 7, John Brown 2

Feb 17, 2017

Hendrix Tennis Courts, Conway

Singles

1. Karthik Garimella, Hendrix, def. Nathan Kuykendall, JBU, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4).

2. Fernando Hurley, JBU, def. Kiran Chakka, Hendrix, 6-4, 6-4.

3. Ian McVinney, Hendrix, def. Kumhal Fulghem, JBU, 6-3, 6-0.

4. Kristian Lenser, Hendrix, def. Stone Swieter, JBU, 6-3, 6-1.

5. Luke Lefler, Hendrix, def. Axel Bentancourt, JBU, 6-3, 6-2.

6. Daniel Habenicht, Hendrix, def. Jordan Scoggins, JBU, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5).

Doubles

1. Nathan Kuykendall/Fernando Hurley, JBU, def. Karthik Garimella/Ian McVinney, Hendrix, 8-5.

2. Luke Lefler/Kristian Lenser, Hendrix, def. Kumhal Fulghem/Stone Swieter, JBU, 8-5.

3. Daniel Habenicht/Daniel Sweeney, Hendrix, def. Axel Bentancourt/Jordan Scoggins, JBU, 8-4.

Ozarks 7, John Brown 2

Feb 18, 2017

Hendrix Tennis Courts, Conway

Singles

1. Fernando Hurley, JBU, def. Dillon Murray, Ozarks, 7-5, 6-4.

2. Sebastien Ricard, Ozarks, def. Nathan Kuykendall, JBU, 6-2, 6-0.

3. Spencer Turner, Ozarks, def. Kumhal Fulghem, JBU, 6-1, 6-0.

4. Jacob Organ, Ozarks, def. Stone Swieter, JBU, 6-2, 6-4.

5. Reid Birch, Ozarks, def. Axel Betancourt, JBU, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9).

6. Jonah Martinez, Ozarks, def. Jordan Scoggins, JBU, 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles

1. Fernando Hurley/Nathan Kuykendall, JBU, def. Dillon Murray/Jacob Organ, Ozarks, 8-4.

2. Reid Birch/Spencer Turner, Ozarks, def. Kumhal Fulghem/Stone Swieter, JBU, 8-2.

3. Cole Lankford/Jonah Martinez, Ozarks, def. Axel Betancourt/Jordan Scoggins, JBU, 8-2.

Sports on 02/21/2017