Wooster, Ohio – Sunday afternoon, the Oberlin College men's tennis team traveled to Wooster, Ohio, and defeated the Fighting Scots, 6-1. The Crimson and Gold add another North Coast Athletic Conference win under their belt and bring their record to 11-6 (3-2).
Despite windy conditions limiting play, No. 1 doubles team Shawn Lisann and Cameron Weiss took a 6-2 victory with ease. Less than ten minutes later, Max Brose and Oliver Knijnenburg clinched the doubles point on court three, winning 6-4. Zain Makada and Sebastien Naginski had more trouble adapting to the weather and found themselves battling on court two. They were able to gain ground and brought the set to 4-4, but dropped the next two games, losing 6-4.
After the team clinched the doubles point, Naginski brought the energy and speed to open singles play and win 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. Brose, on neighboring court five, landed backhand after backhand to close his match less than a minute later, 6-1, 6-2. Finding his groove in singles, Makada clinched the match for the Yeomen by winning 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2.
Up 4-0, Oberlin continued to grab wins in the remaining singles matches. Sophomore Brady Huggett dropped his first set 6-0, but refocused during the break between sets and shifted his energy to win the second set 6-1. With renewed momentum, Huggett closed out the match with a 6-3 victory in the third set.
Margain's opponent, Enzo Lopes, played a tough game, staying in 20-shot rallies to take an early lead. But Margain fought back steadily, beginning to dominate the rallies and forcing more errors from his opponent, winning 6-4, 6-3.
On court one, Lisann was pitted against Wooster's Anthony Vanoyen. Lisann stayed in the rally for as long as possible with steady spin while Vanoyen opted for flat forehands to cut through the wind and win points. Oberlin took the first set 7-5, Wooster took the second 6-3. In the third set tiebreaker, Vanoyen came out on top, winning 10-4.
In a post-match interview, doubles team Brose and Knijnenburg discussed their teamwork and the conditions at Wooster. Brose said, "We started off strong. They started playing better. But we kept our cool and were able to break at four all. That was crucial for getting the win and then we were able to serve it out." On the weather, Brose commented, "It was definitely tough at first. We made a couple mistakes. But we eventually adjusted. We hit a lot of body serves, didn't go for too much on our volleys, just put it away."
Knijnenburg said, "I'm glad we got the clinch. I think it's good for our confidence."
Up next, the Crimson and Gold will be preparing for another weekend triple-header. The team will spend three days on the road and play Ohio Wesleyan, DePauw, and Wittenberg, respectively. Opening the weekend in Delaware, Ohio, Oberlin will face Ohio Wesleyan on Friday, April 17, starting at 4 p.m.
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