CLINTON, Mississippi – The fifth-ranked Ouachita Baptist University men's tennis team had its next tough challenge on Sunday in what has turned out to be one of the toughest schedules in the nation this season with a 4-3 loss to 34th-ranked Mississippi College to start its spring break trip.
The Tigers drop to 6-5 overall, while the Choctaws improve to 8-4.
Ouachita started out by taking two of three in doubles to carry a 1-0 lead into singles, but MC rallied with wins in first, third, fifth, and sixth position singles to earn the come-from-behind victory.
Despite the team loss, Ouachita's three points came over tough competition. The Tigers top doubles duo took down the nation's 36th-ranked tandem, while
Phil Exner earned a win in second position singles over the 34th-ranked player in D2.
Only one singles matchup was decided in straight sets with
Matias Parzajuk earning the win in fourth position. In the five other matchups, a third set was needed to determine the point, and in three of those matchups, a tie-breaker was needed to determine a winner in one of the sets.
Ouachita heads south to the gulf coast for the rest of the week, taking on No. 37 Auburn-Montgomery on Tuesday and No. 13 West Florida on Thursday. Both matches will be played in Pensacola.
NO. 34 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 4, NO. 5 OUACHITA 3
DOUBLES
- No. 7 Alex Blanchar / Phil Exner (OUA) def. No. 36 Felipe Iser / Rafael Sabio (MC) 6-3
- No. 24 Fernando Docters / Aaron Osmond (OUA) def. Alvaro Saint Martin / Hsiang Yi Wang (MC) 6-3
- Joe Jarvis / Antoine Nivault (MC) def. Matias Parzajuk / Ramon Strassmann (MC) 6-4
SINGLES
- Alvaro Saint Martin (MC) def. No. 64 Alex Blanchar (OUA) 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
- No. 14 Phil Exner (OUA) def. No. 34 Rafael Sabio (MC) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
- Joe Jarvis (MC) def. Fernando Docters (OUA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Matias Parzajuk (OUA) def. Felipe Iser (MC) 6-0, 6-4
- Antoine Nivault (MC) def. Ramon Strassmann (OUA) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-2
- Brady McDaniel (MC) def. Aaron Osmond (OUA) 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4
