[Men's Tennis] Tigers drop heartbreaker to Judson 5-4; Season ends in CCAC Semifinals
BOURBONNAIS, Illinois -- The Olivet Nazarene University men's tennis team has battled adversity all season. Thursday afternoon was no exception as they went down to the wire against visiting Judson University in the CCAC tournament semifinals. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they would come up one point short in a 5-4 season-ending loss.
ONU, who had edged the Eagles during the regular season by a score of 5-4, found themselves on the wrong end of an intense postseason dual. Judson took an early 2-1 advantage by winning a pair of close matches at two and three doubles. Alex Verdu Arques and Tyler Cannon lost 8-6 at two doubles to Joel Hancox and Brandon Courcelles, while Luke Fleming and Jon Merki lost 8-6 at three doubles to Dimitri Ingrassia and Augustin Lestelle. The Tigers got on the board with a win at one doubles from Jose Castro and Francisco Faria, who egded Christopher Veltkamp and Christopher Kerswell, 8-5.
Singles play was just as competitive, as three matches went to a third set. Judson took a 3-1 lead following a win at five singles by Hancox over Luke Fleming, 6-0, 6-0. Francisco Faria would pull the Tigers back in it with a straight sets win at three singles, 7-5, 6-2 against Lestelle. Alex Verdu Arques then leveled the match at three with his win at two singles over Kerswell, 6-4, 7-6. As the sun went behind the clouds, Jose Castro briefly gave the Tigers a 4-3 advantage with his come from behind third set victory at one singles, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 against Veltkamp. Judson would respond with a thrilling victory at five singles, as Ingrassia edged Tyler Cannon in three sets, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4. The match would come down to six singles, where Jon Merki and Marcus Berg battled for nearly three hours. Berg would clinch the match for the Eagles with a comeback victory, winning 6-7(9), 6-1, 6-1.
Judson advances to the CCAC tournament championship match against Cardinal Stritch on Saturday. For the Tigers, their season ends with an overall record of 9-9. ONU loses two seniors to graduation, Jose Castro and Tyler Cannon.