PHOTO DAY GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's tennis team wrapped up its non-traditional season over the weekend in Michigan, as Jake McDivitt and Jamie Price represented the program in the customary ITA Central Regionals (at Kalamazoo College).

The duo opened with a tough but narrow 8-6 doubles loss against fifth-seeded Ian Yi and teammate Peter Fitzgerald from the host school. However, they admirably bounced back to win by the same 8-6 margin against a tandem from Illinois Wesleyan.

Their doubles run came to a close in the consolation quarterfinals on day two, enduring a tight 8-7 loss to a Webster team that prevailed in the tiebreaker, 7-4.

Both players dropped their opening singles matches, but McDivitt rallied to pick up a solo victory later on by defeating Aaron Streit (Trine) by counts of 3-6, 6-0 and then 10-6 in the breaker. He was later eliminated by Justin Penados of Elmhurst.

"We wanted to see the best players in the region and country," head coach Tyler Stephen said. "They embraced the opportunity and competed well. It didn't seem overwhelming and the matches we lost were competitive. Playing big points at that level only gets you more experience and ready for the spring. That's why we were there… to feel it in person."

Prior to the ITA's, Otterbein charted a pair of head-to-head victories against Mount Vernon Nazarene (5-2) and Ohio Wesleyan (9-0).

McDivitt had an absolute dogfight at No. 1 singles in the MVNU showdown, ultimately coming out on top 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) in a match worth the price of admission. Gabriel Atteh and Tom Ohler won in straight sets while Dylan Shook won by default. Otterbein claimed all three doubles matches with relative ease.

The Cardinals then turned around nine days later in the middle of September to blank the Battling Bishops. Price burned the most calories that day, eeking out an 8-6 doubles triumph with Atteh and then flying back to steal No. 2 singles with a line of 4-6, 6-3 and a 10-4 breaker.

McDivitt, Ohler, Shook and freshman Will Newberry all corralled W's on their respective courts as well. Shook (6-3, 6-3) worked through some challenging points to eventually stand strong.

"We will focus on playing more consistently and solidifying out confidence throughout the lineup," Stephen said. "It might be a process at the top of the lineup with some learning curves, but they will keep improving with more reps in crunch time and close situations. But I expect to be deep and our 4-5-6 positions to be nails. It will be a group effort regardless."

Otterbein and its 11-man roster will take the winter months to keep working and strengthening various parts of the game. The official spring schedule is still being finalized, but the Cardinals will surely look to get out and play a strong sample size early.

"We will always focus on peaking at the right time," Stephen added. "Quality matches in February and March get you ready for April and May, when conference rolls around. We are competitive but realistic. Whether you win or lose some during that early stretch, it's more so about maintaining confidence and competing the most when it counts the most. It should be a fun ride once again."