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Ohio Northern University

Men's Tennis falls to Grinnell (Iowa) 5-1 in First Round of NCAA III Tournament

Men's Tennis falls to Grinnell (Iowa) 5-1 in First Round of NCAA III Tournament
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May 10, 2024

WHITEWATER, Wis. — Ohio Northern fell 5-1 to Grinnell (Iowa) in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Warhawk Tennis Courts.

ONU received the OAC's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament.

| NCAA Tournament Site |

The Basics

  • Records: Ohio Northern (19-6 Overall), Grinnell (25-3 Overall).
  • Venue: Whitewatwer Tennis Courts - Whitewater, Wis.

Match Highlights

  • Junior Peyton Specht (Munster, Ind.) and freshman Tyler Wood (Toledo/St. John's) won 8-6 at No. 2 doubles to trim the deficit to 2-1 after singles.
  • GC then won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 and 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 ti clinch the match.
  • Senior Kavya Desai (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) was leading 7-5, 1-2 at No. 6 singles when the match ended.
  • All three doubles matches were highly competitive as the pioneers won 8-6 at No. 1 and 8-4 at No. 3.

Notables

  • The Polar Bears were making their third consecutive and eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history overall.
  • Ohio Northern earned the Ohio Athletic Conference's automatic bid by winning the OAC Tournament title with a 5-2 victory over John Carroll last weekend.
  • The Polar Bears won their third consecutive OAC Regular Season title and its 12th overall to earn the No. 1 seed in this week's OAC Tournament.
  • Northern has now swept the OAC Regular Season and Tournament titles three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
  • This match was the first-ever meeting between Ohio Northern and Grinnell.
  • The Polar Bears are now 4-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
  • Wood (19-6) led the team in singles victories this season.
  • Specht a team-best 25-5 doubles record and was 39-19 overall.
  • Freshman Kessler Hackenberger (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) tied Specht for overall wins with a 39-9 overall record, going 17-3 in singles and 22-6 in doubles.
  • Second-year head coach Sean Swisher is now 29-14 at the helm of the ONU men's tennis team, a winning percentage of .674.

Up Next

  • Season complete.