Jack Buchan

The College of Wooster men's tennis team won four of five matches, all in decisive fashion, during its annual spring break trek to Hilton Head Island, S.C., to improve to 6-4 on the season.

The six wins is very notable as the Fighting Scots, under the direction of first-year head coach Tim Dunford, have already exceeded their win total from last year (5-14) with nine regular season matches still remaining plus the postseason.

Wooster's improvement was evident in Hilton Head. The Scots started with an 8-1 decision over Edgewood College, a more decisive victory than when the teams faced last spring, and more impressive, they produced a 7-2 win against Lake Forest College one year to the day after losing to the Foresters. Sandwiched in between was a 6-2 triumph over Catholic University of America and Wooster later added an impressive 8-1 victory against NCAA Div. II Bloomsburg University.

Outscoring the opposition 35-12 over spring break, the Scots received strong contributions throughout the lineup. Willy Nelson won three No. 1 singles matches, highlighted by a 10-8 third-set super tiebreaker after splitting two close sets during the Edgewood match, which led to North Coast Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Week honors. Harrison Suttle clinched Wooster's win over Bloomsburg via a 6-2, 6-3 line at No. 2 singles, and at No. 3, Milo Saurman secured the Catholic match in dramatic fashion, taking a super tiebreaker 12-10 in the third. Overall, Saurman was 3-2 at that position.

The Scots displayed strong depth during the trip, prevailing in 13 of the 15 matches played at the fourth through sixth singles spots. Jacob Pine went 4-1 at No. 4, yielding just a combined 13 games over the eight sets he won, while Jack Buchan earned straight-set decisions in all four matches he contested at the fifth position as the freshman improved to a team-best 8-1 in dual matches this season. Paul Thomas started at No. 6 all five matches, rolling to victories in the first four with his foes winning only 10 games.

In doubles action, Nelson and Saurman played a series of close matches at the top of the lineup, coming out on top three times, while Suttle and Pine teamed together at the second spot, going 4-1. Buchan and fellow rookie Davis Elkins were a perfect 5-0 at No. 3, once again demonstrating the team's depth. In fact, the closest any opponent came to Buchan and Elkins was 8-5.

Wooster returns to action next Thursday with a home match against Muskingum University at 4:30 p.m.