RESULTS
OBERLIN, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's tennis team opened the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament on a high note with a first-round victory over Ohio Wesleyan University, Friday afternoon. The top-seeded Lords yielded a 5-0 win over the Battling Bishops in the men's tournament's first match, held at the Don Hunsinger Courts on the campus of Oberlin College.
In similar fashion to last week's meeting between the two teams, Kenyon (21-3) displayed near-flawless play against the No. 8-seeded Bishops. The Lords raced out to earn the first five points of the match, drawing it to an early conclusion. Last week, Kenyon defeated Ohio Wesleyan 9-0 after splitting their squad to play a pair of matches to close out the regular season schedule.
The Lords rolled through doubles play, claiming all three by wide margins. Wade Heerboth and Kevin Ye ran the table to earn an 8-0 win over Matt Swaim and Brad Turnwald in the No. 2 doubles match. That made way for wins coming from the pairings of C.J. Williams and Michael Razumovsky plus Sam Geier and Colin Haas, 8-2 and 8-3, respectively.
Singles play got underway with the Lords claiming to a 3-0 lead but once Tristan Kaye and Josh Stiles obtained victories in their respective matchups, the Lords clinched the match to bring it to a halt. Kaye won in shutout fashion (6-0, 6-0) over Swaim while Stiles delivered a straight-set defeat to John Russell (6-0, 6-1) to seal the deal. The win was also Kenyon's 12th straight victory dating back to March 16 when the streak began against nationally-ranked Bowdoin College.
Kenyon continues its run toward its seventh consecutive NCAC title on Saturday, April 27 when they play Wittenberg University in the semifinals. First service is set for 3 p.m.
The Tigers (16-6), seeded fifth in this year's tournament, knocked off No. 4-seeded Allegheny College 5-4 to advance to the semifinal round.
The Lords, ranked second in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), have won six straight conference titles on the men's side dating back to the 2006-07 season. In all six title matches the Lords defeated the Denison University Big Red to claim the crown.
