ORLANDO, Fla. – The Kenyon College men’s tennis team whipped up two wins Wednesday, starting its spring break schedule on the right foot. In the morning, the Owls held off No. 23-ranked Carnegie Mellon University, 6-3. In the afternoon, they chalked up a 5-2 win over NCAA Division I Loyola University Maryland.
Throughout the two matches, singles play was key for Kenyon. On the day, the Owls went 9-3 in singles competition, while prefacing that record with a 3-3 mark in doubles action.
Against Carnegie Mellon, the Owls fell behind 2-1 after doubles results were recorded. Eliezer Gonzalez and Paulo Pocasangre Kreling accounted for the lone Kenyon doubles point by winning the No. 2 match, 8-4.
In singles, the Owls turned things around quickly. Eric Zhang, playing at No. 5, turned in a quick 6-2, 6-2 win and was followed by Pocasangre Kreling, who won the No. 4 match by scores of 6-2, 6-3. Kenyon then took a 4-2 team lead when Thomas Kallarakal won the No. 1 singles match 6-3, 6-4.
Carnegie Mellon got a point back at No. 3 singles, but Rishil Kondapaneni clinched the team victory for Kenyon with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles. Rakkan Audeh capped off the competition with a final Kenyon win, taking the No. 6 bout 7-6, 7-5.
Format and lineups changed for the second match of the day. Playing against Loyola meant the NCAA Division I format was followed. So, instead of each of the doubles matches counting as a team point, the combined results of the doubles matches counted as one point for the winner.
Kenyon wound up earning that point and taking a 1-0 lead after Luis Andres Platas and Zhang raced to a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles. Loyola won at No. 3, but Kenyon bounced back to take the No. 2 match. Gonzalez and Pocasangre Kreling again paired up there, winning by a 6-4 count.
The Owls, currently ranked at No. 20 in NCAA Division III, then went on to win four of the six singles matches to claim the team victory and to improve their season record to 3-5. Loyola won at No. 1 and No. 6 singles. Kenyon took all the matches in between.
Platas claimed the No. 2 match 6-1, 6-4 and Zhang moved up to No. 3 to produce a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-3) win. Kenyon’s other two winners were Audeh, who moved up to No. 4, and Jacob Smith, who took over the Owls’ No. 5 spot. Audeh won 6-2, 6-1 and Smith won 6-2, 6-2.
The Owls have the next two days off and will face another doubleheader on Saturday, when they take on No. 8-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan College at noon, followed by a battle with No. 19-ranked Southwestern University beginning at 3:30 p.m.
