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| Jesse DeWitt |
The College of Wooster men's tennis team took to Oberlin, Ohio on Saturday for a doubleheader against regionally-ranked Oberlin College and 12th-ranked Case Western Reserve University, as the Fighting Scots lost 8-1 to the Yeomen in the morning before falling by the same count to Case Western Reserve in the afternoon.
Wooster (6-14, 0-1 North Coast Athletic Conference East Division) opened its 2016-17 divisional slate against Oberlin (12-7, 2-0 NCAC East) and emerged from doubles play down 2-1 thanks to an 8-3 win by junior Titas Bera and sophomore Jesse DeWitt at No. 2. Seniors Jack Buchan and Davis Elkins lost 6-8 at the top spot to Oberlin's Ian Paik and Jeremy Lichtmacher, the 13th-ranked doubles pair in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Central Region, while junior Andrew Long and first-year Nathan Devereux went down 3-8 at No. 3.
In a clash between regionally-ranked opponents at No. 1 singles, Bera, the 16th-ranked player, took on Paik, the 23rd-ranked player, and opened with a 6-2 first-set win before falling by the same count in the second. Going the distance in the third set tiebreaker was Paik, who came out with a 13-11 win to clinch the point.
Buchan (0-6, 0-6) and Elkins (0-6, 1-6) lost at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. In the fourth spot was DeWitt, who lost 2-6, 3-6, while Devereux (2-6, 4-6) and Long (1-6, 0-6) lost at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
Concluding on a high note for the Scots was Bera, who claimed the Scots' lone point against Case Western (16-4) with a straight-set win over Siddharth Rajupet, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Buchan battled at the No. 2 spot, going down 4-6, 4-6, while Elkins fell 5-7, 1-6 at No. 3.
DeWitt (1-6, 2-6) and Long (0-6, 0-6) lost at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. At No. 5 singles, Devereux could not find the break he needed in the first, losing 5-7, before dropping the second set, 2-6.
In doubles, Buchan and Davis went toe-to-toe with the 11th-ranked pair in the region, losing 6-8, while Bera and DeWitt went down in contention, 5-8, in the No. 2 position. Long and Devereux lost 1-8 at No. 3.
Up next, the Scots turn their attention to No. 24 Kenyon College (8-10, 2-0 NCAC East) on Tuesday, April 11 at 4:30 p.m. at Gambier, Ohio.