Lords
The 24th-ranked Kenyon men’s tennis team gained two wins against The College of Wooster and Oberlin College this week, improving their record to 10-10, including a 4-0 record in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), to end the season. With these two wins, the Lords extended their NCAC winning streak to 73 games since April 12, 2000.
Against Wooster’s Fighting Scots, the Lords found themselves down 2-1 after doubles play. In first two matches Wooster came out on top, beating Kenyon pairs of Weston Noall ’18 and Alex Rieger ’18 and Nicholas Paolucci ’19, and Jacob Zalenski ’20 8-6 and 8-5, respectively. Tristan Kaye ’17 and Mike Roberts ’17 brought Kenyon its only point in doubles competition when the duo beat their opponents 8-4.
The Lords fought back, however, dominating singles play en route to a 6-3 victory. The first singles victory came at the hands of Kaye, who easily defeated his opponent, winning 6-0, 6-1. Paolucci followed up at No. 2 with a shutout victory against his opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0. Austin Diehl ’20 won the fourth point for the Lords with Noall in doubles, giving the Lords the securing point. Michael Liu ’18 added to the team’s success with a two-set win, giving Kenyon their sixth point.
Kenyon followed up with another solid win against Oberlin. In doubles competition, pairs Paolucci and Zalenski and Kaye and Roberts delivered with two wins of 8-5 and 8-6, respectively. The Lords added to this lead with another impressive performance in singles, winning five matches. Paolucci had the most commanding performance for the Lords in singles play, winning in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-1. Diehl, Noall and Kaye delivered for the Lords by winning their matches in straight sets and Zalenski gave Kenyon the final point with his convincing 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Lords tennis will enter the NCAC tournament in two weeks, between April 28 and April 30, as they fight for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Ladies
The Ladies rounded out their season on Saturday afternoon with a convincing 8-1 victory against Ohio Northern University and a nail-biting 5-4 victory against Oberlin College, improving their overall record to 9-9.
The Ladies earned two points from their doubles competition, as the talented pair of Diana Aboubakare ’18 and Jenna Murray ’17 cruised to an 8-2 for their seventh victory in nine doubles matches. Mara Kaspers ’20 and Annie Reiner ’19 tallied the other point in doubles play, earning an 8-2 victory over their opponents.
The Ladies went on to dismantle Ohio Northern in singles play, winning every match. Commanding victories by Alyssa Moreau ’18, Murray, Aboubakare and Reiner were bright spots in singles play. Maggie Sweeney ’19 and Kasper rounded out the match with convincing wins of their own.
The Ladies then faced a familiar NCAC foe at Oberlin. The team started slow, falling behind after doubles play 2-1, with the pairing of Aboubarkare and Murray earning the only point. Despite this, the Ladies roared back in singles play, winning four of the six matches.
Reiner started the Ladies off with a 6-1, 6-3 victory at the No. 5 match, gaining Kenyon’s second point of the afternoon. The teams then exchanged points with Oberlin, taking the No. 4 and 6 battles, and Kenyon’s Murray and Aboubakare both won.
Tied at four points apiece, the teams turned to the final match with Kenyon’s Sweeney going against Oberlin’s Emma Brezel. With all eyes on Sweeney, she came through for the Ladies in tremendous fashion, dominating Brezel in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. This victory gave the Ladies the tight 5-4 victory over their Oberlin rivals.
The Ladies look to capitalize on this momentum in the NCAC tournament between April 28 and April 30 in Gambier.