FRANKLIN, Ind. – After several weather delays and postponements, the Franklin College men's tennis team made their spring debut at the Mickel-Hoover Tennis Complex on Saturday (Apr. 21) afternoon, taking on HCAC foes Earlham and Defiance.  

The opening match of the day saw the Grizzlies (4-10, 1-3 HCAC) fall 9-0 to the high-powered Quakers (17-3, 4-0 HCAC). Franklin would rebound in the night cap, storming past Defiance (3-16, 1-5 HCAC) 9-0 to record their first conference win of the spring.

Against the Yellow Jackets, the Grizzlies dominated doubles play en route to three points. The top doubles team of Alex Hammer and Blake Amonett picked up an 8-2 win, followed by an 8-4 win from the No. 2 team of Zach Lester and Jacob Zachary. Sam Godby and Dean Elrod closed out doubles action with an 8-0 win from the No. 3 spot.

The success carried over to singles play with top-seeded Hammer starting things off with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Amonett followed suit, taking a 6-0, 6-1 win in the No. 2 doubles spot.

Zachary rallied from a set down for a 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 win over Eline Widman at the No. 3 spot. Kyle Sauley and Godby recorded matching 6-1, 6-1 wins from the four and five positions. Elrod completed the sweep with a 6-0, 6-0 win at the No. 6 singles position.

Franklin hits the road for each of their next two matches, starting with a trip to Hanover, Ind. on Wednesday (Apr. 25) for a meeting with the Hanover Panthers. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m.