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| Titas Bera |
Senior Titas Bera improved to 2-2 against regionally-ranked North Coast Athletic Conference competitors, and The College of Wooster men's tennis team nearly pulled off an improbably comeback at No. 2 doubles during an 8-1 loss to Ohio Wesleyan University in a thrilling Wednesday evening match at Lakewood Tennis Club in Lexington, Ohio that was much closer than the final score indicated.
Bera, who was ranked ninth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional rankings report, dropped the first set of his match to 16th-ranked Shouta Fukamachi 7-6 (5), before winning a thrilling second set 7-5. With the outcome of the match already decided, the two regionally-ranked rivals played a 10-game pro set, won by Bera 10-6. Notable, the win marked Bera's 20th of the year and singles, and with one more, he'll move into the program's top-10 list for single-season singles wins.
Earlier in the match, first-year Joaquin Abos Amo and sophomore Nathan Devereux found themselves in a 6-0 hole at No. 2 doubles. The duo strung together a spirited comeback bid before Ohio Wesleyan (15-7, 2-2 NCAC West Division) ultimately took the flight 9-7.
In fact, two of the doubles flights went down to the wire with first-year Jorrit de Rouw and senior Andrew Long winning five points before dropping an 8-5 contest at No. 3.
In singles play, Bera's match was one of three that went the distance. In the second flight, Abos Amo bounced back from dropping his opening set 6-4 to win the second one 6-3. Ohio Wesleyan's Diego Venegas Varagas took the tilt between the pair of international student-athletes thanks to a 7-5 third-set.
Junior Jesse DeWitt dropped his opening set 6-1, but stormed back to even the match with a 6-2 win in the middle frame. OWU's Jack Hibbard flipped the score around 6-2 in his favor in the third set.
Wooster (8-11, 1-2 NCAC East Division) takes on Wabash College (12-10, 2-2 NCAC West Division) at noon on Saturday. The match is part of the program's family weekend.