FINAL RESULTS

MASON, Ohio – In perhaps the most exciting and nail-biting Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tennis match that will be played in recent memory, an upset-minded Otterbein team exchanged blows down to the wire with league power John Carroll Saturday morning… with everything on the line.

It took extra tie-break points in both the second and third sets, of a what ended up being a winner-take-all ninth match of the day, to crown a league champion and issue the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

Somehow, some way, John Carroll came from behind to overcome two championship points for the Cardinals and win the day 5-4. The Blue Streaks have now claimed the last six OAC titles.

"That was brutal, but I am so unbelievably proud of our guys," said head coach Tyler Stephen, overcome with emotion afterwards. "They did everything to right way and deserved to be in this championship position. It just didn't quite work out for us."

Otterbein lost 8-1 against JCU during the first match of the season, albeit through a modified lineup with the absence of veteran Jamie Price. The senior was back this time around, and the Cardinals gained early momentum by snagging two of three doubles courts…

Price and classmate Brandon Wall emerged 8-4 on the top line, while Tom Ohler and Jake McDivitt prevailed 8-3 at the next spot. John Carroll tallied its first point at third double as Connor Radune and Jared Deel fell 8-4.

Wall then polished off Andy Siciliano at No. 1 singles by scores of 6-2, 6-3, but the Blue Streaks took courts two and six around the same time in straight sets to deadlock the match at 3-3.

All three middle courts (3-4-5) would fittingly find their way into a third set. Tom Ohler had an early lead in his contest, dropped the second frame, and then bounced back nicely with a decisive 6-3 victory in the third… JCU countered on court three, where Tom Beebe worked back to hand Price a 6-3 loss in the third set and tie the overall team scoreboard at 4-4.

In an ironic ending to a match littered with seniors on both sides, all eyes would turn to the remaining match at No. 4 singles between a pair of freshman; Jake McDivitt (Otterbein) and Grant Sarnowski (JCU)…

Sarnowski won the opening set, 6-4, before McDivitt admirably battled back to keep the match alive with an 8-6 tiebreak victory in the next battle. He carried that momentum into the third, leading 5-2 before his counterpart responded back off his heels.

Sarnowski won the next three games, forcing a tie at 5-5 and then fighting off a pair of championship points for McDivitt (leading 6-5), including one after a medical timeout for cramping. The 6-6 stalemate entered another tiebreak and, this time, Sarnowski emerged by the thinnest of margins at 7-5 to keep the OAC crown in University Heights.

Otterbein finishes the shortened pandemic schedule at 6-2 overall after getting back to the OAC Championship for the first time since 2015. The Cardinals beat everyone else besides John Carroll in the conference-only schedule, including five-straight shutouts down the stretch.