ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - The Ouachita Tigers men's tennis team improved to 11-6 overall and 3-0 in the Great American Conference after defeating Harding University by a final of 6-3 at the Ward Tennis Center on Thursday.
The Tigers took an early 2-1 advantage over the Bisons in doubles play. The 18th-ranked duo of Oliveira and Chab cruised to an 8-2 win while Braciszewicz and Mechali won by a final of of 8-4. Ouachita took four of six in the singles matches.
Vitor Oliveira, Maceij Braciszewicz,
Luis Chab and
Jason Mechali picked up singles wins.
With the rivalry between the two teams dating back to the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, head coach
Craig Ward knew the importance of this win would not be lost on his players.
"Harding always has a competitive team and you know they are going to give 100%," coach Ward said." Today was no exception. The guys really had to dig down deep in the singles to pull it out."
He added, "This rivalry has a special meaning to a lot of our former players. This was a good win."
The Tigers final regular season conference match is this Saturday, April 16 at the Ward Tennis Center. Ouachita will face Oklahoma Baptist at 2:00 p.m. Coach Ward and the team will also be recognizing the 2016 men's tennis seniors.
"It is our last home match for our seniors Vitor, Maciej and Jason. All three are fine young men with bright futures ahead of them. It has been a privilege to be their coach and they will be missed very much. I hope our fans will come out and support these three seniors and the rest of the team as we try to clinch the conference regular season championship."
#26 Ouachita Baptist vs Harding University
