CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Kenyon College’s Erika Oku and Daria Beshentseva lost in the first round of the NCAA Division III Singles and Doubles Championships on Friday, May 28.
The University of the South’s Emma Smith had a repertoire of shots in her arsenal and knocked off Oku in three sets in singles action.
Competition was tight throughout, with numerous games in all three sets reaching deuce.
In the first set, Smith won two of the first three games before Oku broke her serve the next two occasions and gained a 4-3 advantage. Later, with the tally knotted up 5-5, Oku won the next two games and earned a 7-5 first-set win after a return groundstroke from Smith went long.
Second-set action saw Smith pull away as Oku had some trouble on volleys and cross-court shots. Leading 3-2, Smith won three games in a row to force a deciding third set.
The final stanza saw Oku jump out to a 2-1 advantage after a forehand winner to the right corner. Just a few sequences later, Kenyon’s top singles player had a chance at a break point to go up 4-2, but Smith denied that opportunity and later tied it at 3 all. Following that, Smith reeled off three straight games to knock off the fifth-seeded Oku.
Competition in doubles play was extremely high as Emory University’s Christina Watson and Stephanie Taylor won over Oku and Beshentseva 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Play started outdoors at Champions Tennis Club. In the first seven games there was just one break; and that came to Kenyon’s duo, who took a 4-3 lead following a Beshentseva volley from the right service box. Taylor and Watson responded to win the next game before a rain delay occurred.
At 4:33 p.m., the players left the outdoor courts and ventured to the McCallie School, which houses six indoor surfaces.
After approximately an 80-minute break, the two teams resumed play. Following the long delay, Emory’s team won the next two games and the first set, 6-4, after some impressive poaching.
Kenyon then got in gear in the second set. Oku and Beshentseva were up 3-0 after some good volleying and overhead shots.
But it would not last. Smith and Watson responded with three straight games of their own to tie the set.
The two squads traded the next few games before Kenyon, down 6-5, forced a tiebreaker. In the 6-6 tie, Emory’s team tallied five of the first six points before winning 7-6 (7-2).
For Oku, she ended her career as one of only two Ladies — Caryn Cuthbert being the other — to earn at least two All-America honors in both singles and doubles. She was also a two-time NCAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honoree.
Metzger secures USILA All-America honor
The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) released it’s slate of All-America award winners for the 2021 season on Friday, May 28. Included on the list as an honorable mention pick was Kenyon College senior David Metzger.
Metzger, the team’s starting goalie, played a little more than 400 minutes between the pipes and posted a 7.28 goals against average this past season. He made 91 saves to go along with a .650 save percentage.
At a national level, Metzger’s goals against average was the ninth best output among all NCAA Division III goalies who logged 400 minutes or more. Even more impressive, among that same group of netminders, Metzger’s save percentage ranked third.
As the last line of defense, Metzger helped steer the Lords to a 6-1 record and an appearance in the 2021 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship game. His personal 6-1 win-loss record succeeds last year’s mark of 5-1 and is included in his overall collegiate career record of 22-8.
Prior to earning the USILA’s All-America award, Metzger was named to the All-NCAC team at the conclusion of both his junior and senior seasons. The All-America award makes him the fifth Kenyon player since 2001 to reach that level. Overall, the program’s history boasts 18 All-Americans.
