WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's tennis team defeated Ohio Northern 5-4 Wednesday afternoon, as the Cardinals are now 16-3 overall and 6-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and are currently the second seed in the conference. The Cardinals are in a prime position to be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming OAC Tournament, as John Carroll is the only undefeated team in the league and will face Ohio Northern on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Cardinals started the afternoon off strong by winning two of three doubles matches. Sydney Bergman and Makayla Sutter won the first doubles 8-2, as Marriella Briones and Jordyn Traxler came away with an 8-4 win at second doubles.
- Sutter earned the first singles victory by winning 7-6, 6-3. Briones picked up her 16th win of the year with a 6-4, 6-4 decision.
- Traxler had a clutch victory at sixth singles by a result of 6-1, 7-5 to earn her eighth victory of the year.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Traxler stays perfect in individual play with an 8-0 record and 25-6 combined record this season.
- The Cardinals continue to dominate at fifth and sixth singles, as the team has a combined 34-3 record.
- Otterbein has won eight of its last nine matches, including the previous four outings.
- This was the first conference loss for ONU this year, as the Cardinals ended a six-game winning streak for the Polar Bears.
- The Cardinals snapped a three-game skid against Ohio Northern, as the last time Otterbein bested the Polar Bears was back in 2016.
WHAT THEY SAID:
- "We lost two tough matches to them last year," head coach Tyler Stephen said. "When it's the last match of the year, it can weigh on your mind a little more and then motivate you. We try not to dwell on one single opponent, but this one meant a lot to us today. I was proud of them for trusting their games when things got tight."
UP NEXT:
The Cardinals will have a match with Baldwin Wallace on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the regular-season finale.
