Specht's victory lifts Men's Tennis to thrilling 5-4 victory at John Carroll in battle of league unbeatens

LIMA — The Ohio Northern men's tennis team improved to 3-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference action with a thrilling 5-4 victory at John Carroll on Saturday.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (14-5 overall, 3-0 OAC), John Carroll (5-8 Overall, 2-1 OAC)
• Venue: Short Family Tennis Center - University Heights, Ohio.

Match Highlights

• Junior Peyton Specht (Munster, Ind.) rebounded for a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles to break a 4-4 tie and give the Polar Bears the thrilling victory in a battle of league unbeatens.
• Specht and freshman Tyler Wood (Toledo/St. John's) won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles and junior Drew Swisher (Findlay) and freshman Kessler Hackenberger (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) won 8-4 at No. 3 doubles as ONU led 2-1 entering singles play.
• Hackenberger put Northern ahead 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles.
• The Blue Streaks tied the match at 3-all with wins at Nos. 1 and 6 singles.
• Junior T.J. Schultz (Grand Blanc, Mich.) won 6-3, 7-6(3) at No. 3 singles to give the polar Bears a 4-3 lead.
• Again JCU tied the match with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles, setting up Specht's exciting finish.

Notables

• ONU is now 30-14 all-time against John Carroll, including an 11-7 margin on the road.
• Specht and Hackenberger each went 2-0 on the day.
• Freshman Tyler Wood (Toledo/St. John's) leads the team with a 15-6 singles record, followed by Hackenberger at 14-2.
• Hackenberger and junior Peyton Specht each have a team-best 19 doubles wins and Hackenberger is a team-best 33-6 overall.
• Second-year head coach Sean Swisher is now 25-13 at the helm of the ONU men's tennis team, a winning percentage of .658.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return to action Tuesday with a home contest against Otterbein at 3:30 pm at the West Campus Courts.