The Kenyon men’s and women’s tennis teams continued play on the road, with the men’s team going 2-1 and the women’s team going 1-2 over the past week.
Men: The Owls began conference play on April 2 against The College of Wooster, winning with a convincing 7-0 scoreline. The doubles point was easily secured as Maximo Llamas Castellanos ’29 and Juozas Cioladis ’28, as well as Alejandro Gonzalez ’27 and Rohan Sriram ’28, cruised to 6-1 victories. Jay Kedar Dixit ’27 and Paulo Pocasangre Kreling ’26 also won their match 6-4. Singles play was just as breezy, as Pocasangre Kreling, Llamas Castellanos, Stylianos Papamichael ’29, Sriram, Eliezer Gonzalez ’26 and Sree Kondaveeti ’29 didn’t lose a single set.
On Friday, Kenyon faced a different level of foe against No. 6 Case Western Reserve University. The Owls got off to a rough start, losing all three doubles matches and failing to take the doubles point. The duo of Eliezer Gonzalez and Alejandro Gonzalez came the closest, falling 7-6 (7-3). Cioladis and Papamichael each also fell in their two singles matches, but Pocasangre Kreling put Kenyon on the board with a 6-3, 6-2 win. Llamas Castellanos was able to win his match as well (7-5, 6-2), but it wasn’t enough, as Alejandro Gonzalez and Kedar Dixit both lost, handing Case Western the 5-2 victory.
Despite the tough loss, the Owls recovered well on Saturday, beating Oberlin College 6-1 on the road. The Yeomen’s lone point came from doubles play, as only the pairing of Pocasangre Kreling and Kedar Dixit could squeak out a win for Kenyon. Despite the early disadvantage, the Owls came out red-hot in singles play, winning every single match. Alejandro Gonzalez and Pocasangre Kreling put on the most convincing displays, each only losing one game. Cioladis, Eliezer Gonzalez and Papamichael all won in straight sets, while Llamas Castellanos showed real resiliency, coming out victorious in a grueling 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5) match to seal the deal.
The Owls will now look ahead to another road matchup on Saturday, this time against No. 26 Skidmore College (N.Y.).
Women: Kenyon traveled around Ohio on Saturday, starting its morning at Oberlin College to take on the Yeowomen before ending the day in Cleveland to compete against No. 18 Case Western. The Owls swept Oberlin, but could not manage to get past the Spartans. Then, on Wednesday, Kenyon opened a string of NCAC matches at home against No. 23 Denison University, defeating the Big Red 6-1.
Against Oberlin, the Owls wasted no time in doubles play. On the first court, Leni Lazaridou ’26 and Hana Nouaime ’28 made quick work of their opponents with a 6-0 win, while the other two doubles courts only dropped a combined three points to win 6-1 and 6-2, effectively securing the doubles point. In singles play, Kenyon chose to showcase its young talent, putting only its first-year and sophomore players on the court. Every Kenyon player won in two sets, with Kiara Komlodi ’29 recording the most dominant performance of the day in a 6-0, 6-0 win. Clare Hudson ’28 defeated her Oberlin opponent 6-4, 6-1, while Maya Stolarsky ’29 won 6-3, 6-1. Maggie Shope ’28 and Sophia Carling ’28 fought harder for their matches, each narrowly winning their second set 7-5, cementing the 7-0 sweep.
Later that day, Case Western upset the Owls, handing them their second straight ranked loss. Kenyon’s only point of the day came in doubles, where the duos of Shadia Amado Aguad ’26 and Komlodi and Hudson and Bridgette Kelly ’28 were each victorious on their courts, winning 6-2 and 7-5, respectively. Despite the early lead from the doubles point, none of the Owls could come out on top in singles play, falling to the Spartans 6-1.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kenyon got off on the right foot against the Big Red, winning each of the doubles matches. After helping secure the doubles point, Lazaridou faltered in singles play, dropping her match in two sets. However, the rest of the Owls had her back, each winning their individual matches. Komlodi, Amado Aguad and Kelly swept their opponents, and while Denison forced Nouaime and Hudson to three sets, both won their final set 6-0, putting a definitive cap on the 6-1 Denison defeat.
The Owls will look ahead to a string of NCAC matches, beginning with Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster on Saturday at home.