Elsah, ILL. -- The Panthers passed their biggest test of the young season with a 7-2 win against NAIA Missouri Baptist on Tuesday.
Brody Swan and
Daniel Gomez got off to a quick start at 2
nd doubles on their way to a comfortable 8-3 win, just as
Jules Kitchingman and
Nat Kenworthy finished off the Spartans 8-2 at 3
rd doubles.
Wyatt Dale and
Greg Sovie battled through a back-and-forth match in the top spot, earning a late break to even the score at 6-6 before falling in the tiebreak.
Despite a low turnout at Hexberg, the teammates and fans present still brought great energy to carry the Panthers through singles play and close out the win. Kenworthy was first off the court at 4
th singles where he rebounded to dominate his tiebreak after dropping the second set. Gomez only dropped two games in a still competitive match at 1
st singles on his way to putting the Panthers up 4-1.
At the two spot, Dale never quite found his groundstrokes and lost in straight sets, though didn't stop competing after dropping a first-set tiebreak and falling down 3-0 in the second. Sovie's revenge win over the same opponent from the fall at 3
rd singles was the story of the day, as he rallied for a first set win after falling down 5-2, yet outdid himself in the second by dropping five games in a row. Sovie then waited until down 9-7 in the tiebreak to bomb an ace and win four straight points to take the match.
Kitchingman had some fun in his special appearance at number five. His first point occurred in the early stages of Sovie's second set, and he dominated in record time well before the other match finished, also clinching the team win.
Dan Wagstaff came on at 6
th singles and appeared ready to coast to a straight set win, but in typical fashion decided to make it exciting. He continued the trend of third set tiebreak wins and closed out a 7-2 victory.
The Panthers next play on Saturday at 9 am against Simpson College at Hexberg, make sure to come out and make some much appreciated noise!
Box Score (winners in bold):
1
st doubles:
Wyatt Dale/
Greg Sovie vs
Rod Aguiar/Lucas Lobao 8-7 (1)
2
nd doubles:
Daniel Gomez/Brody Swan vs Patrick Szymczak/Hillary Ncube 8-3
3
rd doubles:
Jules Kitchingman/Nat Kenworthy vs Don Kern/Seth Grody 8-2
1
st singles:
Daniel Gomez vs Rod Aguiar 6-1, 6-1
2
nd singles:
Wyatt Dale vs
Patrick Szymczak 7-6 (2), 6-3
3
rd singles:
Greg Sovie vs Lucas Lobao 7-6 (3), 4-6, 11-9
4
th singles:
Nat Kenworthy vs Hillary Ncube 6-0, 3-6, 10-2
5
th singles:
Jules Kitchingman vs Don Kern 6-0, 6-1
6
th singles:
Dan Wagstaff vs Seth Grody 6-2, 0-6, 10-6
