OBERLIN, OH- The Oberlin College men's tennis team notched their first win of the season today in a 6-3 victory over the Kalamazoo Hornets.
In stark contrast to their previous two matches, the Crimson and Gold started off strong, going 2-1 in doubles play. Second-year Shawn Lisann and third-year Sebastien Naginski were aggressive at the net in their 8-4 win against Adnan Alousi and Gabe Vidinas. In their win over Parker Foster and Seth Keana, fourth-year Rohan Gold and first-year Zain Makada relied on their improvisation and big hitting to ease past their opponents 8-2. Second-year James Foster and first-year David Mnuskin had plenty of chances to close out the match, including at 7-6, 40-15, but Tieran Rafferty and Henry Spark stayed solid and came back to win 8-7(3).
In his #1 singles match, Gold went back and forth throughout the first set against Vidinas and had a chance to serve out the first set but was unable to and lost in a tiebreak, 7-6 (4). He started off the second set strong and went up a break, 3-0, but couldn't maintain his level and lost 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Lisann fought hard in his #2 singles match and made an immense effort to come back in the first set and tie it at 5-5. However, Alousi raised his level once again and won the set 7-5. Momentum swung back and forth throughout the second set and Lisann had his chances once again to close it out, but Alousi found a way to win and closed it out, 7-5, 7-5.
In his #3 singles match, Naginski got off to a roaring start and quickly led Keana 4-0. However, the tides shifted quickly and Keana raised his level dramatically. Naginski wasn't able to react in time and lost the first set 6-4. The second set was a bit nervy but Naginski started playing smarter tennis and wore down Keana to win the set 6-4. He continued to improve his game as the match went on and dominated the third set to clinch the win for the Yeomen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In their matches at the #4 and #5 slots, Makada and Ben Tichauer steamrolled their opponents and won quickly. Makada used his serve and forehand combination to break down Lukas Hultberg and win 6-2, 6-1. Parker Foster was unable to throw Tichauer off his game at any point during the match as the first-year cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win.
James Foster rounded out the day with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kalamazoo's #6 player, Alek Hultberg. Foster relied on the vocal support and presence of his teammates in a rocky first set before finding his game in the second.
The Crimson and Gold improve to 1-2 on the season and will play their next matches in a doubleheader at home. Next Saturday, Feb. 17, they will first take on Case Western Reserve University before playing against Illinois Institute of Technology.
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
