LIMA, Ohio -- In their first dual of the season, the Kenyon College men's tennis team fell by a score of 6-1 against the University of Northwestern Ohio. It was a home outing for the Racers, which meant the contest was scored based on the NAIA institution's system.
Kenyon's Thomas Kallarakal tallied the team's lone win, claiming a thrilling victory in the No. 3 singles match. The senior earned a hard-fought first set that needed to be settled by a tiebreaker, where Kallarakal edged out UNWO's Mike Stieler 7-5. Stieler battled back with a 6-1 win in set two, but Kallarakal claimed the deciding third set with a 6-3 win.
The rest of Kenyon's matches did not turn out as well, as the Racers swept all but one set throughout the rest of the dual. In singles competition, Paulo Pocasangre Kreling, Eric Zhang, and Rakkan Audeh kept things the closest in the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 singles matches.Â
At No. 4 singles, Pocasangre Kreling, a first-year, stayed within two games of Martin Stanchev in each set but ultimately dropped the match 7-5, 6-4. Zhang, a sophomore, forced extra action in the first set of his No. 5 singles bout but fell 7-1 in the tiebreak before losing 6-0 in set two. Audeh, a sophomore, started strong with a 6-2 set-one win, but Nils Messin secured the No. 6 singles win with 6-2 and 6-3 margins in sets two and three.
Kenyon's No. 1 and 2 singles players, Luis Andres Platas and Rishil Kondapaneni, won a few games apiece. However, Platas fell 6-1, 6-3 in the top spot against Sergio Conde, while Kondapaneni dropped the No. 2 match against Giovanni Branchetti 6-4, 6-1.
In doubles, the Owls' No. 3 duo of Eliezer Gonzalez and Pocasangre Kreling came closest to winning, forcing a tiebreaker in which they fell 7-3. Kondapaneni and Zhang grabbed a game in a 6-1 loss at No. 1, while Kallarakal and Platas fell 6-0 at No. 2.
The Owls will have a chance to bounce back next week when they head to Kalamazoo College for a dual at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4.
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