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Kenyon College Athletics

2
Grinnell College GRIN (9-4)
5
Winner Kenyon KENM (13-1)
Grinnell College GRIN
(9-4)
2
Final
5
Kenyon KENM
(13-1)
Winner
4
Winner Kenyon College KENM (14-1)
3
Univ. of Mary Washington UMW (11-2)
Winner
Kenyon College KENM
(14-1)
4
Final
3
Univ. of Mary Washington UMW
(11-2)
Juozas Cioladis
Angel Maldonado

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

Kenyon men keep rolling with pair of ranked wins

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The Kenyon College men's tennis team began a busy two-day road trip with back-to-back battles against a pair of tough teams. Friday's first dual featured the No. 38-ranked Grinnell College Pioneers, while the hosting No. 20-ranked University of Mary Washington Eagles were on deck for the second half of the doubleheader. The No. 13-ranked Owls got the day started off strong with a 5-2 win over Grinnell before outlasting UMW in a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

Kenyon's wins extended its unbeaten streak to five straight, and the Owls improved to 14-1 overall this season. Additionally, Kenyon picked up two more wins against teams ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national top-40 rankings, and the squad is now 4-1 when facing ranked opponents. Grinnell fell to 9-4, while Mary Washington walked out of the battle between one-loss teams with a second defeat, moving to 11-2 this year. 

The Owls proved their ability to win in multiple ways as the duals played out differently, with Kenyon needing to overcome a doubles defeat against Grinnell before relying on the doubles point and some late singles heroics to clinch the sweep.

After trailing the Pioneers 1-0 heading into singles play, Kenyon picked up straight-set sweeps in four of the six singles matches to cruise to the eventual 5-2 win. Alejandro Gonzalez led the way at No. 1, where his 6-3, 6-3 sweep marked the junior's seventh straight singles victory to start the spring. First-year Maximo Llamas Castellanos continued his unbeaten dual record as well, improving to 12-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 2. Juozas Cioladis, a sophomore, also stayed perfect in dual play, sweeping the No. 4 match 6-2, 6-3 to win his 13th straight singles bout. Paulo Pocasangre Kreling and Stylianos Papamichael also helped the Owls push past the Pioneers, prevailing at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.

Getting back to work just a few short hours later, the Owls maintained their momentum to win the doubles point against UMW. All three doubles bouts came down to the wire, with a 7-5 triumph by Llamas Castellanos and Cioladis at the top of the lineup marking the largest margin of victory. A pair of 7-6 finishes proved pivotal in the dual, and Pocasangre Kreling and Jay Kedar Dixit clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (10-8) victory at No. 2.

Three of Kenyon's four doubles winners kept rolling on the singles side, where Llamas Castellanos, Cioladis, and Kedar Dixit got the job done for the Owls. Cioladis and Kedar Dixit had similar straight-set scores, with Cioladis winning 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 4 and Kedar Dixit posting a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory at No. 5. 

The Eagles did not go out without a fight on their home courts, however, and the dual went all the way down to the final set of the final singles match. With the teams tied 3-3, Llamas Castellanos battled Trevor Rein at No. 2, and the pair battled back and forth for their squads. Llamas Castellanos started strong in set one, winning 6-2, but Rein responded with a 6-4 stopper in set two to force a decisive third set. Rein jumped out to an early lead, but Llamas Castellanos clawed back to clinch the victory, winning 7-5 to give Kenyon the edge.

The Owls have another tough test on deck in Fredericksburg as Kenyon will face No. 23-ranked Christopher Newport University (7-3) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 21.
 
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