KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Covenant men's tennis team closed out the regular season with a resounding, 9-0, win over Johnson on Wednesday afternoon.

The match was a tune-up for Covenant (12-5) heading into the USA South Tournament. The No. 1 West seeded Scots will host No. 2 West seed Piedmont on Friday at 4 p.m., in a first round match that was moved up a day to avoid inclement weather on Saturday.

Wednesday's tilt at Johnson was a chance for head coach John Hirte's squad to get additional players into action. Chris Morton, Tyler Kelly, Camden Lashley, Jeb Barnette, and Andrew Graham along with Ethan Gibson all had two wins on the day.

In doubles play, Gibson and Morton combined for an 8-1 win at the top flight over Kaden Buchanan and Gerett Benjamin. Lashley and Kelly were 8-0 winners at No. 2 over Daniel Orahood and Riley Reinhardt before Graham and Barnette capped the doubles portion with an 8-4 victory over Cade Crowe and Caleb Weaver at No. 3.

Morton made it a 4-0 match with his straight-set victory over Reinhardt at No. 2. Moving up to the No. 1 spot in singles was Gibson and he clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Buchanan.

Kelly also didn't drop a game in his 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 over Stephen Damon. 

The bottom half of the lineup didn't face much resistance, either. Lashley took a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Orahood at the No. 4 spot, while Barnette won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 against Weaver. Graham concluded the match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ian Thomas at No. 6.

UP NEXT

Covenant will host Piedmont in the first round of the USA South Tournament on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Covenant Tennis Complex. The USA South Fan Policy is in place for Saturday's match. Only Covenant students/faculty/staff, along with those on the men's tennis team's pass list, are allowed to attend. Masks must be worn at all times.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS

Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information. To receive e-newsletters, click here