GRANVILLE, OH – In the most important match of the year for the Oberlin College Men's Tennis team, showed up to Denison University ready to win. 
 
In the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the #6 seed Yeomen took on the #3 seed DePauw Tigers in a rematch of a close 4-5 loss earlier the season. Heading into the matchup, the team put an emphasis on doubles play after they fell behind early in their last battle with the Tigers.
 
Oberlin's top doubles team, third-year Sebastien Naginski and second-year Shawn Lisann, came into the match with a vengeance, having lost to DePauw's #1 team, Finley Buelte and Teagen Crow, in a tiebreak earlier this season. The duo got off to a quick start and could not be stopped, riding three breaks en route to an 8-3 win. In what was possibly the last doubles match of his career, fourth-year Rohan Gold was rock solid with first-year partner Zain Makada. After two nervy games brought the Tigers' #2 team, Ryan McCook and Wils Warren, just one game away from sending the match to a tiebreak, Gold nailed six first serves to earn a clutch hold and the win, 8-6.
 
Oberlin's #3 team, second-year James Foster and first-year Ben Tichauer, suffered the same fate as last time against Hudson Mosher and Chase Hutchinson, falling 8-4. The two Yeomen were able to save four consecutive match points when down 7-2, 0-40, but couldn't mount a complete comeback.
 
Makada breezed through his match, taking down DePauw's #4 Jake Louiselle 6-1, 6-2 to give Oberlin a 3-1 lead that didn't last long. Despite playing close games, Tichauer was beaten by Scott Anderson, 6-3, 6-2 in the #5 match. Foster came close to clawing back in his first set, leveling it at 3-3 after quickly going down 0-3. However, Grayson Zylstra was too much for him to handle and grabbed a 6-4, 6-3 win in the #6 match for the Tigers.
 
Gold carried the momentum from his doubles match into his #1 singles match against Buelte, winning the first set 6-1 with relative easy. Buelte didn't go away quietly though, and came back to even the match 6-1, 3-6. Spurred by his teammates, Gold found another gear and cruised through the third set for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win to give Oberlin a 4-3 advantage. Shortly thereafter, Lisann and Naginski both found themselves in a third set after dropping the second.
 
In the #2 match, Lisann bounced back quickly from losing the second and won critical deuce points to hold a 3-0, double break lead over Samuele Pia. Meanwhile, Naginski had traded breaks with DePauw's #3, Ryan McCook, for a 2-1 lead. While Pia organized a ferocious comeback to even the set at 3-3, Naginski held his nerve and his serve for a 5-1, 15-40 lead on his opponent's serve. McCook, who was recently named to the NCAC All-Decade team, won three clutch points to put the pressure on Naginski while Lisann broke Pia again for a 4-3 lead. The second-year wasn't given the opportunity to finish his match, as Naginski served out the match for a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory and to clinch a spot in the semifinals for Oberlin.
 
The Yeomen return to action tomorrow at 12:00 to take on the #2 seed Kenyon Owls in the semifinal match of the NCAC Tournament. 

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.