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Kenyon College Athletics

1
Gustavus Adolphus GAC (20-10)
4
Winner Kenyon KENM (22-4)
Gustavus Adolphus GAC
(20-10)
1
Final
4
Kenyon KENM
(22-4)
Winner
Stylianos Papamichael
Angel Maldonado

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

Strong singles play advances Owls

CHICAGO -- Opening NCAA Division III Championship play Friday in the second round of the 44-team national bracket, the Kenyon College men's tennis team used strong singles play to defeat the No. 22-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties, 4-1. The win moved the No. 10-ranked Owls into the third round, where they will face host and No. 1-ranked University of Chicago on Saturday at noon (CT).

Kenyon, now with a 22-4 overall record, got behind early on Friday. Gustavus Adolphus won two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point and put the Owls in a 1-0 hole. The Gusties won both the No. 1 and the No. 3 doubles matches by identical 6-3 counts. The No. 2 doubles match was tied 5-5 before it was abandoned.

Led by first-year Maximo Llamas Castellanos, the Owls turned things around in singles play. Llamas Castellanos nailed down his first set, 6-3, in the No. 2 singles match. A few minutes earlier, 6-2 first-set wins were registered by junior Alejandro Gonzalez at No. 1, by sophomore Juozas Cioladis at No. 4, and by junior Jay Kedar Dixit at No. 5.

Needing to win four of the six singles matches to advance, Llamas Castellanos came through with the first of those victories, as he knocked off Dominik Knutson 6-3, 6-3 and evened the overall team score at 1-1.

Kedar Dixit fell a game behind at 4-5 in his second set, but rallied to notch a 6-2, 7-5 win over Takura Mhwandagara at No. 5. Cioladis matched that performance at No. 4. He fell behind 3-4 in his second set, but pulled out a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Deuce Daniel to push Kenyon ahead, 3-1, on the team scoreboard.

Gonzalez went into a third set at No. 1 and senior Paulo Pocasangre Kreling had a drawn out 7-6 (11-9) win in his first set of the No. 3 singles match. That gave enough time for first-year Stylianos Papamichael to post the clinching team point at No. 6 singles, where he defeated Quinn Monson, 6-3, 6-4.

The Owls now focus on Chicago, a team that has a 19-3 record and got into the third round of NCAA play by defeating Luther College, 4-0, in the second round.  
 
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