FINAL RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It was a long time coming… literally. Entering Wednesday afternoon's heavyweight showdown, the John Carroll women's tennis program had won 55-consecutive matches against schools within the Ohio Athletic Conference.

That all changed, in resounding fashion, as a rising Otterbein squad promptly ended that remarkable streak with a 9-0 triumph in front of its home crowd. The Cardinals (15-4, 6-0 OAC) won all courts to beat the Blue Streaks for the first time since 2014, and take over sole possession of first place in the league standings.

Otterbein clinches at least a share of the regular-season title as a result, and can secure it outright with a victory at Mount Union nex Saturday (4/30). John Carroll loses within the conference for the first time in over 2,500 days.

"I'm just really proud of this group as a whole," head coach Tyler Stephen said. "We obviously have a lot of respect for John Carroll and what they have accomplished in recent years. But we knew we could win and just took the opportunity by storm. There were key points along the way, and I thought we remained composed from start to finish. It was another group effort." 

Wednesday featured a rematch of last year's OAC Tournament Championship, where John Carroll emerged with a hard fought 5-3 decision down in Mason. But a patient, eager, confident and balanced Otterbein squad had a different outcome in mind.

The Cards comfortably took No. 1 and 2 doubles behind their top guns, as Erin Storrer and Emma Henson cruised 8-1 on the top line while the Lillia Walter/Madi Mueller duo posted an 8-0 blanking just below.

The real momentum occurred at third dubs, where Rachelle Moses and Aubrey McMahon struck a furious rally to steal their match in notable fashion. Down 7-3, they fought back admirably to force a breaker… and then prevailed 8-6 in those extra points.

"Third doubles was huge," Stephen added. "That gave us a massive boost/swing heading into singles. Being up 3-0 is a much different story than just 2-1, especially when you have a player like Erin Storrer. I also thought (Lillia) Walter and (Emma) Henson played like seniors. Impressive all the way around."

With practically all of the energy on the home side, Otterbein kept its foot on the gas to leave little doubt on the team scoreboard. All Cardinals won in straight sets, igniting their own "day of giving" out L's to the opposition.

Storrer beat fellow first team All-OAC standout Megan Reese by counts of 6-4, 6-2. Walter led comfortably on the No. 2 line before her opponent retired in the second set.

Henson stayed the course throughout some challenging moments at third single, ultimately coming out the other side victorious by identical scores of 6-4, 6-4. Mueller had a dogfight in the first set, but won the tiebreaker 7-5 and then parlayed that surge into a 6-0 second frame.

Moses emerged 6-4, 6-2 on the fifth line while Cassady Shough had a relatively smooth time in a 6-0, 6-3 decision to complete the lineup. It marks the ninth team shutout this season, and a nice bounce-back result from a difficult contest at Kenyon over Easter weekend.

FINISH THE JOB:
Otterbein still has a bit of work to do next weekend, with first serve up in Alliance scheduled for 1 p.m. The Cards will be looking to beat Mount Union for a fifth-straight time.