Men's Tennis falls to Kalamazoo (Mich.) in 5-4 thriller in First Round of NCAA III Tournament
By Tim Glon
CLEVELAND — Ohio Northern fell to Kalamazoo (Mich.) 5-4 in a thrilling NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament First Round match on Friday at the Carleton Courts on the campus of Case Western Reserve.
The fifth-seeded Polar Bears end their season at 13-8 overall.
The fourth-seeded Hornets (12-7 overall) advance to the Second Round on Saturday and will face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Case Western Reserve (28-4 overall) in the Second Round on Saturday at Carleton Courts.
The NCAA Tournament appearance is the seventh in program history for Ohio Northern.
The Polar Bears took a 2-1 lead after doubles play.
Junior Kavya Desai (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and sophomore Tristan Munteanu (Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon) won 8-2 and No. 3 doubles and sophomores Peyton Specht (Munster, Ind.) and Drew Swisher (Findlay) won 8-6 at No. 2 doubles for ONU.
Swisher won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles to give the Polar Bears a 3-1 lead.
Kzoo won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles and 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 singles to tie the match at 3-3.
Freshman Nico Rogel (Alicante, Spain/Hoosac) made it 4-3 with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles.
The Hornets tied the match at 4-all with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles.
All eyes then turned to the No. 1 singles match where Kalamazoo narrowly took a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 decision.
