Oberlin, Ohio – Oberlin College men's tennis dropped their third straight in a tightly contested 5–2 loss to Hope College.
 
The team got off to a slow start in doubles. Multiple players were making uncharacteristic mistakes in crucial points, which led to Hope grabbing the doubles point. Third-year Zain Makada and first-year Oliver Knijnenburg played their first match as the No. 1 team but fell just short, losing 6–4 to Hope's Austin Becksvoort and Ned Curley. In the No. 2 doubles match, third-year Shawn Lisann and second-year Brady Huggett were behind early and couldn't put together a comeback, losing 6–3 to Cooper Nugent and xx. The team's lone win in doubles action came off the racquets of first-years Enrique Margain and Max Brose. The duo kept the energy high throughout their set against Paul Schneider and Elliot Dozeman and secured their second win as a team, 6–4.
 
Despite entering the singles match on a high after getting a doubles win, Margain fell behind quickly and lost the first set 6–1 to Curley. The first-year remained undeterred and played much better in the second set, earning himself a pair of set points that Curley was able to erase. The Flying Dutchman kept his cool in the tiebreak to win 6–1, 7–6(5).
 
Makada went down early against Schneider and took some time to warm up to singles play. However, after dropping the first set 6–3, Makada settled in and became comfortable with exchanging hard, flat balls during long points with Schneider. Makada was trailing for the majority of the second set but was able to force it to a tiebreaker, where Schneider upped his game to seal a 6–3, 7–6(5) victory.
 
Brose came out hot against Rylan Doden, breaking him twice en route to a 6–2 set. Doden was able to turn the tides for his own 6–2 set. Brose found his range in the third, ripping winners and finishing points at the net to earn Oberlin's first point of the day in a 6–2, 2–6, 6–3 win. 
 
Oliver Faranda got off to a lightning-fast start to nab the first set, 6–0, but Becksvoort suddenly rose his level to reel off the next two sets 6–2, 6–0 in the No. 5 match.
 
In his singles season debut, Knijnenburg was outplayed by Hope's No. 6 Karsten Patel, who came up with some clutch passing shots on his way to a 6–2, 6–2 win.
 
Oberlin's best match of the day can be credited to Lisann. After fighting an illness during the week, the third-year battled through long, grueling rallies in a No. 1 singles match that went over three hours. Lisann was trailing in the majority of the first set against Nugent, whose level was just high enough to grab the set, 6–4. Lisann played much better in the second set and looked like he was physically up for the challenge, but dropped three consecutive set points before the set entered a tiebreak. Lisann pressured his opponent repeatedly with his net game, forcing Nugent to miss a passing shot to win the second 7–6 (3). In the third, Lisann went up a break early and held his serve until 5–4, where Nugent played some clutch tennis to break the Yeoman. In a moment where it felt like momentum was squarely on Nugent's side, Lisann found yet another gear to secure his best victory of the season, 4–6, 7–6(3), 7–5.
 
Oberlin does not have long to dwell on the loss as they are back on the Hunsinger Courts on Wednesday, February 19, at 5 p.m., to take on Ashland University. 
 
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