FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The Kenyon College men's tennis team wrapped up the weekend with a second straight win on the University of Mary Washington's campus. The Owls took on the Stevens Institute of Technology in a neutral site matchup, and No. 23-ranked Kenyon claimed a 7-2 Sunday morning victory.
Kenyon, who was coming off a 7-2 win that secured a split of their spring-opening doubleheader a day prior, came out swinging. The Owls swept the three doubles matches to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the early going.
Two of the doubles margins were comfortable as Kenyon teams took care of business in the Nos. 2 and 3 matches, but the No. 1 match was a back-and-forth battle. The duo of Paulo Pocasangre Kreling and Eliezer Gonzalez played their third 8-7 doubles match in as many contests, and the sophomores came out on top after outlasting the Stevens pairing 11-9 in the tiebreaker. Alejandro Gonzalez and Eric Zhang secured an 8-3 win in the second spot, while Christophe Leblanc and Gianluca Bocanegra doubled up on the Ducks, 8-4, in the No. 3 match.
Kenyon kept cruising with straight-set sweeps in the top singles tests. Pocasangre Kreling won 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 1 spot, while Alejandro Gonzalez put up matching 6-3 marks to win in two sets.
The final four singles matches were not as straightforward. The Owls and Ducks split the bill, with each squad taking two three-set victories. Stevens upended Bocanegra 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 3, but Kenyon got comeback wins in the Nos. 4 and 5 bouts. Eliezer Gonzalez battled back to win 3-6, 6-4, 10-6 at No. 4, while Zhang fought for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 5. The Ducks snagged one more point in the No. 6 match, where Leblanc lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
After playing three matches in two days, Kenyon has over a week off before getting back in action. However, the Owls will be even busier next time out as their upcoming Spring Break schedule includes six matches in nine days, including five matchups against ranked teams. Kenyon's next contest is against the Caltech Beavers on March 4 in Pasadena, California.
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