Women's Tennis battles hard in 5-2 loss to top-seeded Otterbein in OAC Tournament finals
By Tim Glon
MASON — Ohio Northern fell to top-seeded Otterbein 5-2 in the championship match of the Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
The second-seeded Polar Bears end their season at 16-5 overall, while Cardinals improve to 15-6 and claim the OAC's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament
Northern fell behind 3-0 as OU swept the three doubles courts.
But the Polar Bears kept battling in singles play and got on the board with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 by senior Regan Landis (Elkhart, Ind./Concord).
OU won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, but JCU made it 4-2 when freshman Jenna Bell (Latrobe, Pa.) won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
The Cardinals clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles.
Sophomore Katie O'Connell (Novi, Mich./Saint Catherine) was leading 7-6(3), 3-2 at No. 5 singles and sophomore Julianne Sheldon (Ashtabula/Saint John) was leading 2-6, 7-5, 2-0 at No. 6 singles when the match ended.
JCU won 8-4 at No. 1 doubles, 8-2 at No. 2 doubles and 8-3 at No. 3 doubles to take an early lead.
Ohio Northern has now reached the OAC Tournament finals in five of the last six tournaments.