ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - The #29 Ouachita Tigers men's tennis team played three matches at the Ward Tennis Center and finished the stretch going 2-1. The Tigers two wins came against Mississippi College and conference-foe Harding. Their loss on the weekend came at the hands of #19 Southwest Baptist.
Ouachita defeated Mississippi College by a final of 6-3. Ouachita gained a 2-1 advantage in doubles play with the duos of
Lennart Lonnemann and Dan Kaplan picking up an 8-3 win and
Braydon Montgomery and
Andre Stefano winning their match 8-3.
Lennart Lonnemann and
Luis Chab both won their singles matches in straight sets.
Nair Adi and Stefano also picked up singles wins to give Ouachita the victory.
The Tigers fell to Southwest Baptist on Friday night, 6-2. Montgomery and Stefano picked up an 8-0 win for Ouachita in doubles and Chab won a grueling three-set match (7-5, 2-6, 6-3) in singles play. Coach Ward credited the experience of the Southwest Baptist players.
"This is a very young team, maybe my youngest ever with four freshman," coach Ward said. "But we have the talent to be one of the best teams I have ever had. Southwest Baptist has one of it's best teams and they played like experienced players. We saw their example and were able to use it in our next match with Harding."
On Saturday, the Tigers rolled to an 8-1 win over the Bisons. Ouachita swept the doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead. Lonnemann,
Juan Moncada, Chab, Dan Kaplan and Adi all won their singles matches in straight sets. Coach Ward praised his players for answering the call after a tough start to the season so far.
"I think this weekend the guys got sick of losing and decided they were willing do whatever it took to win. My hope is we will use it to mature and grow beyond our years as the season progresses."
Ward also added praise for the fan support over the weekend.
"I also want to thank our fans for coming out and supporting us. The men from Sigma Alpha Sigma helped us with pizza, burgers and brats for all three matches. The support always helps."
The Tigers begin a grueling nine-game road stretch beginning on March 11 versus Northwest Missouri State.
