The Kenyon men’s and women’s tennis teams were back in action over the past couple of weeks, with the men winning four matches and the women falling to the top-ranked team in the country.
Men: The No. 13 Owls put together a dominant showing, dismantling Rhodes College (Tenn.) and Otterbein University in a pair of 7-0 sweeps on Feb. 14. Then, Kenyon took down Centre College (Ky.) on Friday and No. 33 Washington and Lee University (Va.) on Sunday to improve to 7-0.
Against Rhodes, the Owls set the tone in doubles play, as the No. 1 pairing of Paulo Pocasangre Kreling ’26 and Alejandro Gonzalez ’27 earned a 6-4 victory to give Kenyon early momentum. The success continued at No. 2 doubles, where the duo of Maximo Llamas Castellanos ’29 and Juozas Cioladis ’28 cruised to a 6-1 win. Completing the doubles sweep, the tandem of Jay Kedar Dixit ’27 and Eliezer Gonzalez ’26 made light work of their opponents with an authoritative 6-2 victory.
Singles play unfolded much like the doubles matches earlier in the morning, with the Owls maintaining control from start to finish. Llamas Castellanos dominated his opponent, sailing to a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Shortly after, Alejandro Gonzalez matched that performance, taking a 6-3, 6-1 win and extending his strong run this season, having lost just one of his last eight singles matchups.
On the No. 3 court, Pocasangre Kreling displayed his experience, prevailing with the same 6-3, 6-1 scoreline. Cioladis secured a 6-2, 6-0 victory, giving the Owls another boost. Kenyon stayed in control throughout the conclusion of singles play. At No. 5 singles, Kedar Dixit won 6-2, 6-0, with Rohan Sriram ’28 on the No. 6 court mirroring that result, securing the final point and capping off Kenyon’s 7-0 triumph.
In the afternoon clash with Otterbein, Kenyon’s doubles teams continued their strong play. Llamas Castellanos and Cioladis dominated with a 6-0 win, while Kedar Dixit and Eliezer Gonzalez, along with first years Sree Kondaveeti ’29 and Stylianos Papamichael ’29, each earned 6-1 victories.
Singles play carried the Owls’ momentum through the afternoon. Kedar Dixit, Llamas Castellanos and Cioladis all secured their second singles victories, while Eliezer Gonzalez, Papamichael and Kondaveeti finished off the sweep.
On the road against Centre, Kenyon didn’t miss a beat. First, Alejandro Gonzalez and Pocasangre Kreling, Eliezer Gonzalez and Kedar Dixit, and Cioladis and Papamichael all cruised in their matches to earn the Owls the doubles point. In singles play, Pocasangre Kreling kicked things off with a hard fought, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 victory before Cioladis followed him up with a much smoother win. Kedar Dixit then suffered Kenyon’s first lost point of the season, falling 1-6, 7-5, 4-6, but Papamichael, Eliezer Gonzalez and Kondaveeti all made quick work afterward, propelling the Owls to a convincing 6-1 overall win.
Lastly, Kenyon faced its toughest opponent to date in Washington and Lee. Once again, duos Alejandro Gonzalez and Pocasangre Kreling and Cioladis and Llamos Castellanos did enough to secure the Owls the doubles point. Singles play was a bit rockier, with Papamichael and Eliezer Gonzalez both losing to their Generals foes. However, Kenyon’s four other singles players, Alejandro Gonzalez, Llamos Castellanos, Pocasangre Kreling and Cioladis, had no issues and cruised in their matches, with none of them giving up a single set to earn Kenyon another victory.
Next up, the Owls will travel to Florida over spring break to take on a number of ranked and unranked opponents. Kenyon’s record currently stands at 7-0 (2-0 NCAC).
Women: On Feb. 15, No. 16 Kenyon faced a formidable opponent, No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.), ultimately falling to the Bears after a hard-fought battle. Following the Owls’ loss, Kenyon’s record stands at 4-1 (2-0 NCAC).
Kenyon’s first match against WashU included its No. 2 doubles pairing, Clare Hudson ’28 and Maya Stolarsky ’29, who were unable to overpower their opponents and fell 6-1. Throughout the day, the Owls continued to struggle against the Bears, and Kenyon’s No. 1 and No. 3 doubles pairings, Shadia Amado Aguad ’26 and Kiara Komlodi ’29 and Leni Lazaridou ’26 and Hana Nouaime ’28, each lost 7-5.
Compounding early losses, the Owls dropped all six of their singles matches. Stolarsky was the first up for the Owls, but was unable to secure a point, ultimately falling in a 6-0, 6-0 defeat. As Kenyon continued to search for its first triumph of the day, the team could not post a victory and Komlodi fell 6-1, 6-1. Hudson also lost her match, posting a score of 6-1, 6-2. Following performances from Stolarsky, Komlodi and Hudson, Amado Aguad continued an unfortunate trend for the Owls and ultimately fell 6-2, 6-2.
The Owls’ No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, Lazaridou and Nouaime, were also outmatched. Nouaime played an excellent match and showed tremendous promise, but was bested with a score of 7-5, 6-2. Lazaridou won her first set, Kenyon’s only set victory of the day, and then fell in the second set, forcing a tie-break. Lazaridou fell 10-7 in the third set.
Next, the women will head to Florida over spring break to face a string of talented opponents while the men will take on Wabash College.