| Box Score 4 WESTVERILLE, Ohio – Another fall schedule has come and gone, and another monthlong stretch for the Otterbein men's tennis team to get its feet under them throughout the opening non-traditional season to the school year.

The Cardinals, fresh off a 17-4 overall record last campaign, continued earning W's across this latest September by going 3-0 in dual matches against Miami-Middletown, Mount Vernon Nazarene and Franciscan.

Otterbein split up to begin the opening weekend from Sept. 14-15, with half the team entering the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational and the other half heading to secure a lopsided 9-0 dual victory at Miami. The Cards captured all but one match comfortably, as Riley Yost fought for a 7-6, 6-3 triumph in the top singles position after a 7-4 tiebreak.

Sophomore Brandon Wall headlined the flock of Cardinals over at the OWU Invitational, which featured more of a round-robin format compared to the traditional bracket. Wall, a returning first team All-Ohio Athletic (OAC) selection, delivered a combined 6-0 record (3-0 singles, 3-0 doubles) that included a come-from-behind win over John Carroll's Andy Siciliano. He responded from an early setback to eventually score a 10-4 tiebreak victory.

Juniors Jamie Price and Jared Deel both went 2-1 in the OWU event individually, while Tom Ohler and Connor Radune also notched a victory. From a doubles standpoint, Wall and Radune swept a trio of opponents that featured a narrow 8-7 (8-5 tiebreak) triumph over a host Bishops tandem.

Otterbein then rattled off a 6-1 victory at Mount Vernon, which implements the NAIA format of just one point for best-of-three doubles. The Cards captured two of those three matches, the one loss being a narrow 7-5 defeat, and then secured all but one singles matchup. Wall's No. 1 singles affair was the only showdown that went three sets, where he found a groove to win 6-0 and punctuate his W over Danny Mayotte.

The Cardinals had another Sunday Funday outing at Franciscan the following week, blanking the Barons 9-0 in a match that featured all straight-set wins. Yost, Price and newcomer Jeffrey Adkins all contributed 6-0, 6-0 shutouts.

Wall and Radune wrapped up the fall calendar this past weekend at the ITA Central Regionals, hosted by Kalamazoo up in Michigan. The duo dropped a pair of competitive doubles matches against teams from Principia and Allegheny, but did find the win column in singles outings.

Wall regrouped from an initial defeat to rip off three-straight victories, including a 6-3, 6-2 win over Nathan Fruh (Wheaton) and then a notable 7-6, 7-5 decision against Jacob Palley of Millikin. He eventually bowed out to Kenyon's Pascal Lee, but not before advancing further than any other OAC player in the bracket.

Radune earned a 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 win over Austin Perry from Rose-Hulman before actually losing to Wall, as the two teammates were forced to play straight up at one point.

"We lost some leadership over the summer from a graduated three-year captain," said fifth-year head coach Tyler Stephen, who holds a 55-33 dual record overseeing the men's program. "New leadership doesn't happen overnight, but I think this fall helped give the upperclassmen an idea of what we need moving forward."

Stephen hit a nice coaching milestone to culminate the fall campaign, surpassing 100 career wins as the coach of both tennis programs. He is also 48-16 spanning four-plus years at the helm of the women's program.

Wall finishes the fall slate with a strong 13-4 overall mark, going 8-2 individually and then 5-2 alongside Radune. Price heads into the offseason with an 8-3 mark to his name.

The Cards will now head into the winter offseason and prepare for their traditional spring schedule. Otterbein will play a few early February matches before its spring break trip out west to Oregon and Washington.