BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College men's tennis team endured a rough opening weekend to the 2017-18 schedule, suffering a pair of setbacks to Johnson C. Smith (7-2) and Lenoir-Rhyne (9-0).

The Tornados opened the campaign by facing Johnson C. Smith, with the team of Tom Mittring and Tim Hengst posting a doubles victory over Marlowe Anderson and Anthony Jefferson, 8-3, in the No. 1 spot for Brevard.

Mittring was also responsible for Brevard's lone win in singles competition, earning a 6-0, 6-2 victory as the No. 1 seeded player in a match against Desire Johnson.

Hengst, the Tornados' second seed, faced a tough battle with Anderson, before falling by a score of 3-6, 6-4 and 10-6. Johnson C. Smith also came away with a hard fought victory in clash of No. 3 seeds, which took place between Cameron Hyman and Jaume Reig, who had set points in both sets, before Hyman emerged by scores of 7-6 (5), 7-5.

The Golden Bulls wrapped up singles competition with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph by Gerald Miller over Nick Schuch.

LENOIR-RHYNE 9, BREVARD 0

Lenoir-Rhyne, which hosted the event at Hickory High School, completed a 9-0 sweep of the Tornados in the second match on Saturday.

Shane O'Dea earned an 8-5 win over Mittring in the No. 1 singles, while Alex Ayguavives completed an 8-4 victory against Hengst. In No. 3 singles, Lenoir-Rhyne came away with an 8-0 victory by Alex Crespo Sanchez, who downed Reig. The final singles match of the afternoon, which featured Camden Tucker and Schuch, went to Tucker by the score of 8-2.

In doubles competition, Lenoir-Rhyne's No. 1 team of Thomas Hons and O'Dea posted an 8-4 win over Hengst/Mittring. The tandem of Rory Murchland and Hewett picked up the final points for the Bears with an 8-1 triumph over Reig/Schuch.

The men's tennis team returns to action on Oct. 7 when it heads to Montreat.

For more information on Brevard College athletics check out www.bctornados.com.