Titas Bera

Jack Buchan

The College of Wooster men's tennis team strung together a four-game winning streak during its successful spring break trip to Orlando, Fla., sandwiched around competitive losses to high-caliber opponents, as the Fighting Scots improved to 7-4 on the season.

Wooster began its annual 10-day southern swing by falling to a pair of Indiana schools, including NCAA Div. I Valparaiso University, then the win streak began with an 8-1 rout of Lake Forest College. That match featured straight-set wins for Harrison Suttle at No. 2 singles (6-3, 6-3) and Jacob Pine at No. 4 (6-4, 7-6), coming against opponents they had lost to the previous season. Additionally, Milo Saurman easily swept his foe at sixth singles (6-3, 6-0) after he needed three sets to edge him last spring.

Following the doubleheader split with Valparaiso and Lake Forest, which lasted well into the night, the Scots were right back on the court the next day and prevailed over Ursinus College 7-2 in a match that wasn't as close as the final score. After taking a 2-1 lead in doubles, Wooster's five singles victories were all very decisive, as Titas Bera won 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1, Jack Buchan 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3, Pine 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4, Willy Nelson 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5, and Saurman 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6.

Next, the Scots got past Colorado College 6-3 in a tilt that featured three singles matches going the distance. Freshman Vilius Sulnis from Lithuania came up with the clinching point when he closed out his opponent at fourth singles, 10-7 in a third-set super tiebreaker after splitting the first two (6-4, 3-6). Also of note, Bera gutted out a 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 10-4 win at the top of the lineup.

Wooster's most impressive victory may have been a 6-3 comeback over Bethel (Minn.) University. The Scots were almost swept during doubles, but Buchan and Suttle played a flawless tiebreaker for a 9-8 (7-0) triumph at No. 1. Wooster then fell into a 3-1 hole on the scoreboard, but rallied to win the remaining singles matches, with Bera battling back from a break down in the second to take No. 1 (6-4, 6-4), Suttle earning a hard-fought victory at No. 2 (7-5, 6-4), and Buchan, Pine, and Nelson having an easier time at No. 3 (6-0, 6-2), No. 4 (6-1, 6-4), and No. 5 (6-1, 6-0), respectively.

Playing its seventh match in seven days, the Scots may have been gassed in a 7-2 setback to Grinnell College, a team that was regionally ranked in the fall. Buchan, at third singles, and Nelson, at the fifth position, posted respective winning lines of 6-3, 2-6, 10-2 and 1-6, 6-4, 10-7.

Overall, Bera led the way with a 5-2 record at No. 1 singles and one of his losses was a narrow 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 score to an opponent from Div. I Valparaiso. Bera also won three times in four doubles appearances, all with different partners, including a 6-3 triumph with Erik Lindberg in the Valpo match.

Buchan and Nelson consistently provided a boost with matching 4-1 singles records at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, during the trip, and Pine was 3-2 at the fourth spot.

Wooster experimented with a variety of doubles teams, with the combination of Davis Elkins and Lindberg winning twice at No. 2.

Once they return home, the Scots will resume competition on March 25, with a road match against Ohio Wesleyan University (6-7).