GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's tennis team closed the book on its regular season on Wednesday evening with a win over Oberlin College. The teams matched up on the outdoor courts at Kenyon's Jasper Tennis Center, and the No. 11-ranked Owls secured a sweep in the sunshine, winning 7-0 against their North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) foe.

The victory boosted Kenyon's record to 17-4 overall and 6-1 in NCAC play. This year's win total is the program's best since going 19-4 in 2018-19, and the Owls will have a chance to add more wins as they head into the postseason. Today's win locked up the No. 2 seed for Kenyon in the upcoming NCAC Tournament, giving the Owls one of two first-round byes in the six-team playoff. The team's next dual is set for Saturday, May 3, at top-seeded Denison University.

Oberlin (6-13 (2-4 NCAC)), who will also be a part of the NCAC Tournament, pushed Kenyon toward the bottom of the singles and doubles lineups, but the Owls cruised in the majority of the matches. The home team took an early 1-0 lead after sweeping doubles, and Paulo Pocasangre Kreling and Alejandro Gonzalez led the way with a 6-1 win at No. 1. Josh Finkle and Eric Zhang won 6-2 at No. 2, while Rishil Kondapaneni and Jay Kedar Dixit prevailed at No. 3, 6-4.

Juozas Cioladis clinched the best singles score, posting a flawless 6-0, 6-0 sweep in the fourth flight. Pocasangre Kreling (6-0, 6-2), Gonzalez (6-1, 6-0), and Rakkan Audeh (6-0, 6-1) each had a shutout set in their straight-set sweeps, while Kondapaneni won 6-2, 6-1. Pocasangre Kreling continued to lock down the top of the singles lineup, while Gonzalez was great at No. 2. Kondapaneni won at No. 3, while Audeh authored a fifth-flight victory.

The first five singles matches went fast as the Owls made quick work of Oberlin, but the Yeomen's Ben Tichauer refused to go down easy at No. 6. Rohan Sriram won the first set 6-2 and was a game away from a sweep with a 5-4 lead, but Tichauer battled back to win 7-5 and force a third set tiebreak. Sriram got back on track in the tiebreak and fought for a 10-7 win to take the set and clinch Kenyon's 7-0 sweep.