ARKADELPHIA – The 21st-ranked Ouachita Baptist University men's tennis team opened the final month of the regular season with a 7-0 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday at home.
All but one matchup went in straight sets in favor of the Tigers. Ouachita swept through doubles, including Phil Exner and Alex Blanchar's dominant 6-0 win in first position. Both also posted convincing victories in singles play later in the match.
20th-ranked Francisco Oliveira needed an extra set victory in both of his sets to earn the win in first position singles. 42nd ranked Santiago Kearney made quick work in second position with a pair of 6-1 wins. The lone matchup to go past two sets was third position singles, with Fernando Docters coming back from losing the second set to win 10-8 in the tiebreaker.
With the win, Ouachita snaps a two-game losing skid from Spring Break and moves to 11-3. UAFS drops to 3-8.
Doubles
- Exner & Blanchar (OUA) def. Wian Van Dyk & Ethan Eddleman (UAFS) 6-0
- Oliveira & Kearney (OUA) def. Daniel Borrero & Juan Rosello (UAFS) 6-2
- Tobias Fuerschuss & Docters (OUA) def. Anis Ramchane & Killian Darneaux (UAFS) 6-3
Singles
- Oliveira (OUA) def. Van Dyk (UAFS) 7-5, 7-5
- Kearney (OUA) def. Borrero (UAFS) 6-1, 6-1
- Docters (OUA) def. Ramchane (UAFS) 6-2, 4-6, 10-8
- Blanchar (OUA) def. Juan Rosello (UAFS) 6-3, 6-3
- Exner (OUA) def. Nicolas Retamales (UAFS) 6-1, 6-3
- Fuerschuss (OUA) def. Eddleman (UAFS) 6-2, 6-4
Ouachita is set to play a pair of MIAA/GAC matches next, traveling to Durant, Oklahoma to take on Southeastern Oklahoma state early in the week before hosting 15th-ranked Southern Arkansas on Thursday.
