Greencastle, IN. -- The men's tennis team traveled to Indiana on Saturday afternoon for a matchup with DePauw University, who finished last season ranked 12
th in the central region. The Panthers came out hot in doubles at the 1
st and 3
rd spots, going up two breaks at various points.
While those matches tightened,
Brody Swan and
Daniel Gomez came all the way back from down 7-2 to force a tiebreak on court two. They couldn't complete what would have been a candidate for Comeback of the Year after DePauw's aggressive play at 5-5 paid off and shifted momentum heading to a match point.
Jules Kitchingman and
Nat Kenworthy fought to the finish at 3
rd doubles but a late break cost them a potential win. Though the Panthers fell down 0-3 after 1
st doubles also dropped a tiebreak, they entered singles play with a competitive mindset and unwilling to give up the fight.
The Panthers' full-strength lineup went out for the first time this season and it showed, as they challenged one of their toughest opponents of the last several years. Swan was unable to bounce back at 6
th singles and took a loss facing a player which had previously beaten Division I Butler. Gomez then got the Panthers on the board with the biggest individual win of the young season. He won from everywhere on the court and slapped his forehand around in a performance that will put the rest of the central region on notice.
Greg Sovie initially kept it close at 3
rd singles before having trouble getting to the net and winning from there. Kenworthy had several set points on court five but couldn't rebound after honking the first set tiebreak.
Wyatt Dale went up an early break but soon faced yet another tiebreak which he lost, and then struggled to refind his game in the second set. The Panthers finished the match on a high note thanks to Kitchingman's big play at the four spot, where he got to everything and outhit his man from the baseline to pull out a tight win.
While the 7-2 final score wasn't what the team expected or hoped for, it serves as something to build on and provides valuable big-match experience that will benefit them throughout their remaining schedule. They look forward to a chance at avenging last season's loss to Grinnell in Iowa next weekend.
Box Score (winners in bold):
1
st doubles:
Wyatt Dale/
Greg Sovie vs
Greg Frauenheim/Bryce McLanahan 8-7 (1)
2
nd doubles:
Daniel Gomez/
Brody Swan vs
Wyatt Metzger/Billy Louiselle 8-7 (5)
3
rd doubles:
Jules Kitchingman/
Nat Kenworthy vs
Alex Bertolini/Will Sultan 8-6
4
th doubles (exhibition):
Dan Wagstaff/
Peter Griswold vs
Mason Lee/Christian Bradford 8-1
1
st singles:
Daniel Gomez vs Greg Frauenheim 6-1, 6-1
2
nd singles:
Wyatt Dale vs
Bryce McLanahan 7-6 (6), 6-0
3
rd singles:
Greg Sovie vs
Wyatt Metzger 6-3, 6-1
4
th singles:
Jules Kitchingman vs Alex Bertolini 7-5, 6-4
5
th singles:
Nat Kenworthy vs
Billy Louiselle 7-6 (4), 6-1
6
th singles:
Brody Swan vs
Alex Pintilie 6-1, 6-1
7
th singles (exhibition):
Dan Wagstaff vs
Will Sultan 8-0
8
th singles (exhibition):
Peter Griswold vs
Mason Lee 4-1, unfinished
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