MONTREAT, N.C. – On Thursday, Milligan's men's and women's tennis programs traveled to Montreat, N.C. to take on the Cavaliers of Montreat College in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action. In a hard-fought afternoon of tennis, both squads came away with close 4-3 victories.

Men's BOX SCORE | Women's BOX SCORE

Montreat got off to a strong start against the (RV) Buffaloes' men, taking the doubles point after Brayden Kennedy and Tomas Tenil dropped the No. 2 matchup 6-1 and Michal Curlej and Martin Mercarder fell 6-3 in the No. 3 slot. Gonzaga Lafarga and Phil Schollhorn provided the lone doubles win for Milligan, taking the No. 1 matchup 6-3.

In singles, Lafarga set the tone in dominant fashion with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep in the No. 1 position, pulling Milligan even on the day. Curlej dropped the No. 2 matchup, falling 4-6, 1-6, and Schollhorn dropped the No. 3 battle 2-6, 4-6, putting the Buffs behind, 3-2 , heading into the final three singles matchups. From there, Milligan rattled off three straight wins to seal the victory. Mercarder got things started with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the No. 4 slot, and Tenil followed with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the fifth position. Kennedy then delivered the clincher, gutting out a 6-4, 7-5 win in the No. 6 slot to complete the comeback and give Milligan the 4-3 victory.

The Lady Buffs wasted no time building an advantage, sweeping all three doubles matchups to earn the doubles point that would prove to be pivotal in the final outcome. Melissa Duarte and Madison Berry set the tone with a 6-4 win in the No. 1 matchup, and Parker White and Laurel Rich followed with a victory in the No. 2 battle to clinch the point. Tara Stewart and Trinity Fox completed the sweep in the No. 3 slot.

In singles, Duarte battled in the No. 1 position but fell in the end. Stewart stepped up in a big way in the No. 2 slot, earning a crucial 6-3, 7-5 victory to give Milligan the lead in singles. Fox dropped a tight No. 3 matchup 6-7 in a tiebreak, but White responded with a clean 6-4, 6-1 win in the fourth position to put the Buffs back on top.Berry delivered the decisive blow with a hard-fought three-set victory, winning 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 in the No. 5 slot to secure the win for the Lady Buffs. Rich dropped the No. 6 match 2-6, 4-6 to close out the day.

Next up for the squads will be an AAC matchup at home at the Mathes Tennis Center on Saturday, March 28.