GAFFNEY, S.C. - Men have not existed on the Converse campus for long, but they are already building a reputation. In the first year of existence, the men's tennis team has been training hard and playing individual tournaments, but today that team walked on the court for the first match in program history. The opponent? The program only two years removed from a Conference Carolinas championship before moving to the SAC.

The two had played many of the same tournaments this Fall, leaving a small amount of familiarity, and some motivation in the matchup. Only 10 days prior, Limestone had denied doubles pair Leopold Morel and Paul Berrouet of a spot in the Belton Finals with a 7-5 victory. Another Limestone opponent denied Louka Queguiner a spot in the singles Final of the same event with a 3-set victory. While no animosity exists, the budding a rivalry had begun.
             
Converse came out very quickly in doubles and raced out to a lead with a win at number 3 doubles. Gregoire Legrand and Cameron Davies delivered a 6-4 to shift pressure to Limestone to respond. However, Merlin Bellet and Louka Queguiner would avenge their Belton loss to the same pairing from Limestone with a 7-5 win at the number 1 position. With the doubles point in hand, Leopold Morel and Paul Berrouet saved 4 match points to deliver a 7-6 (9) win of their own, just for good measure.
             
Heading into the singles up 1-0, the Valkyries looked to continue their momentum. Legrand quickly put the Valkyries up 2-0 with a 6-0 6-0 victory at the number 4 position. However, Limestone quickly answered with a 6-0 6-2 victory at number 6. Queguiner continued his good Fall semester with a 6-1 6-2 win to push Limestone to the brink. However, as good teams do, Limestone continued to battle back, winning the number 5 and 2 spots 7-6 (2) 6-1 and 4-6 6-1 6-3, respectively. This shifted all the pressure to freshman Merlin Bellet at the number 1 spot.
             
"You really can't ask for much more. Two great teams battling it out and it comes down to a 3^rd set between the best players for each team. M (Bellet) really battled all day. There were momentum shifts throughout. He even trailed 2-0 in the 3^rd set before really rallying. The support from the team, and the women's team that traveled to support them, was really great and I think gave him some life at times he was feeling exhausted. I am so proud of the heart he plays with. And to think he is the youngest player on a team of only freshman," Coach Poda said of Merlin. Bellet trailed in the 3^rd set 2-0 prior to ripping off 5 straight games to lead 5-2. Serving for the match, Bellet had a match point, but the opponent dug up a ridiculous volley to get to 5-3 and put pressure back on Merlin. With a mixture of irritating defense and booming forehands, Bellet once again found himself with match point. Staving off a tricky serve, Limestone misfired on a forehand in the net, and the Valkyries found themselves looking a scoreboard reading: Converse 4 Limestone 3.
             
This marks the first match and the first victory in the history of the program. "If we can compete with this level of team, I have high hopes for what we can accomplish in the conference this year. And we are only going to keep getting better. I'd be willing to bet we have the youngest team around," Poda remarked.

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Converse will wrap up their Fall play with a trip to Catawba on October 23.