Season Preview: Men’s Tennis ready to defend its conference titles in 2022-23
By Wes Mayberry
| Men's Tennis 2022-23 Schedule |
ADA — After setting a single-season record for wins in 2021-22, the Ohio Northern men's tennis team is looking to carry that momentum over into 2022-23.
The Polar Bears finished last season at 23-5 overall and were a perfect 6-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play. They won both the OAC regular season and tournament championships for the first time since 2013 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament, where they defeated Grove City (Pa.) before falling in the second round to eventual national runner-up Case Western Reserve.
Northern returns seven lettermen from last year's squad to a 2022-23 roster that includes one senior, two juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.
Senior and three-year letterman Matt Garcia (Downers Grove, Ill./South) returns as the team's most experienced player. He is 37-25 overall over three seasons, including 9-5 in singles and 28-20 in doubles. The two-time ITA Scholar All-American earned Second Team All-OAC honors as a sophomore and was All-OAC Honorable Mention and Academic All-OAC last season.
This year's junior class consists of two-year lettermen Isaac Spar (Ada) and Kavya Desai (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.).
Spar is a perfect 7-0 in singles play and 4-2 in doubles in his career for an overall mark of 11-2. He is a two-time ITA Scholar All-American who was named Honorable Mention All-OAC as a freshman and Academic All-OAC as a sophomore.
Desai is 11-5 overall in his career, going 7-4 in singles and 4-1 in doubles. He was named Honorable Mention All-OAC as a freshman and was an ITA Scholar All-America and Academic All-OAC selection last season.
Sophomores Peyton Specht (Munster, Ind.), Drew Swisher (Findlay), Sam Sran (Punjab, India/St. Stephens and Gian Jyoti Global) and Tristan Munteanu (Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon) also return after providing a spark to the team as freshmen last season.
Specht posted an overall record of 35-13 in 2021-22, going 20-4 in singles and 15-9 in doubles. He finished second on the team in singles wins and overall victories and was twice named OAC Player of the Week en route to earning All-OAC Second Team and ITA Scholar All-America honors.
Swisher went 33-9 last season, including 11-4 in singles and 22-5 in doubles. He led the team in doubles wins and ranked third in overall victories en route to being named Honorable Mention All-OAC, ITA Scholar All-America and Academic All-OAC. He enters his sophomore season with a perfect 7-0 mark in OAC play, including 2-0 in singles and 5-0 in doubles.
Sran was 25-10 overall as a freshman, going 22-7 in singles and 3-3 in doubles. He led the team in singles victories and earned All-OAC Second Team and ITA Scholar All-America recognition.
Munteanu transferred to ONU from Whittier (Calif.) last season and went 11-10 for the Polar Bears, including a 10-6 mark in singles play. He was named to the All-OAC Second Team and earned ITA Scholar All-America honors.
Incoming freshmen Mac Robertson (Findlay) and Nicolas Rogel (Ada/Hoosac) round out Northern's nine-man roster for 2022-23.
The Polar Bears are set to open the 2022-23 season on Sept. 3 at home against Adrian (Mich.).