SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The No. 10-ranked Kenyon College men's tennis team completed a previously suspended matchup Friday morning, defeating No. 24 Skidmore College by a 5-2 tally at the McCaffery-Wagman Center.
The dual originally began on March 12 in Orlando, Florida, but inclement weather halted play after the doubles portion was completed. The two teams reconvened in Saratoga Springs to finish singles play, where Kenyon secured the victory. With the result, the Owls improved to 18-2 overall while maintaining their unbeaten mark in North Coast Athletic Conference play at 5-0. Skidmore dropped to 10-4 overall, snapping its nine-match winning streak.
Kenyon carried a 2-1 advantage from doubles play when the match resumed. The No. 1 tandem of
Juozas Cioladis and
Maximo Llamas Castellanos earned a 7-5 victory over Fletcher King and Nika Mori, while
Paulo Pocasangre Kreling and
Jay Kedar Dixit secured a 6-3 decision at the No. 2 position against Harrison Gradin and Kyle Lundberg. Skidmore's lone doubles point came at the No. 3 spot, where Radin Sadeghi and Mahen Bitkuri topped
Eliezer Gonzalez and
Alejandro Gonzalez, 6-4.
The Owls quickly built on that lead once singles play began. At the top court, Llamas Castellanos produced a strong performance with a straight-sets win over Yuval Goodman, 7-5, 6-1.
Alejandro Gonzalez battled through a dramatic three-set match at the No. 2 position, rallying to defeat Lundberg 1-6, 6-4, 13-11 in a contested super tiebreak. Pocasangre Kreling followed with another convincing outing at No. 3 singles, defeating King 6-3, 6-2.
Kenyon added a victory deeper in the lineup to seal the dual,
Stylianos Papamichael mounted a comeback at No. 6 singles, dropping the first set before responding with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Mori.
Skidmore claimed its two singles points at the No. 4 and No. 5 courts. Ege Topbas edged Cioladis in a competitive battle, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), while Sadeghi outlasted
Sree Kondaveeti in three sets, 4-6, 6-0, 10-6.
Up next, the Owls return to Gambier, Ohio, where they will host Wittenberg University in North Coast Athletic Conference action. The matchup will also serve as Kenyon's senior day celebration.
