The men’s tennis team defeated rival Wabash on Wednesday 8-1 to start out North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) West play.
Juniors Harold Martin and Nate Wallace opened up the match with a victory in No. 3 doubles. After Wabash tied it up with a victory in No. 2 doubles, the Tigers did not surrender another loss. Senior Alec Kaczkowski and junior Dan Rodefeld finished off doubles play with the win at the No. 1 spot.
Head Coach Scott Riggle commended Martin and Wallace for their strong start to the match.
“I think that we played very good singles and good doubles at the No. 3 spot and were a little streaky in the other two spots,” Riggle said.
The team did not lose any sets in singles play. Junior Patrick Ferrell and Martin scored wins at the No. 2 and No. 6 spots, Rodefeld got the win at the No.1 spot, first-year Greg Frauenheim and Kaczkowski won No. 5 and No. 3 singles and junior Matt Santen finished the night with the singles No. 4 victory.
Despite the rout, Riggle commended Wabash's program for its effort.
“Wabash competes hard, and, of course, both teams get up for one another,” Riggle said. “We have a lot of respect for Coach Hutchison and how he runs his program, so it's gratifying to get the win.”
Riggle feels confident in his team for the remainder of conference play because of the tough competition they have faced this season.
“We've played an extremely tough schedule, and it seems to be paying off now,” he said, “and most of our players seem to be playing with a lot of confidence.”
The Tigers have now improved to 8-8 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC West with the win. Wabash fell to 15-11 and 0-1 in the division.
The team returns to action on Saturday when they host Denison and Wittenberg at 5 p.m.