FINAL RESULTS

MIAMISBURG, Ohio – Despite a valiant three-hour battle by the Otterbein men's tennis squad Friday afternoon, the season would unfortunately come to a close in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) semifinals against defending champion John Carroll.

The Cardinals, settling on the low side of a 5-3 decision at the South Regency location, held a 2-1 lead after doubles but didn't quite have enough in a rematch of last year's tournament final.

Otterbein ends its season with a 9-8 record while the second-seeded Blue Streaks (now also 9-8 overall) advance to play regular-season champ Ohio Northern for the crown.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cardinals began the matchup by snagging positive momentum, as Will Newberry and Boban Mihajlov prevailed 8-4 at third doubles to give the team an early lead.
   
• JCU responded with a victory on the top line, leaving a rather decisive point at No. 2 doubles for Otterbein's duo of Gabriel Atteh and Jamie Price. They escaped late with a thrilling 8-7 triumph to help the team carry a 2-1 lead into single action.
   
• Unfortunately, John Carroll would be victorious on the top-three lines to jump ahead for good. Price nearly won his first set against Mark Beebe before succumbing 7-5.
   
• Senior Tom Ohler registered a point for Otterbein at fourth singles, beating his counterpart 7-6 and 6-4 following some up-and-down sequences.
   
• John Carroll then emerged at No. 5 singles and the sixth line went unfinished.
   

COACH'S COMMENTS

On feelings at the midway point after doubles:
"It was the first time all year it felt like we came through in a close match, especially against a really good doubles team that succeeded in conference. But we also knew it was just 33% of the entire match." – Tyler Stephen

On the tough results during individual matches:
"We just lad a bit of a letdown to begin. Everything was just a little flat and we weren't able to get the energy all the way back up. Just couldn't quite break through on a court that we needed on paper coming in, to get five points against that team as a whole."

On the season/outlook as a whole:
"From a big-picture standpoint, we lost a lot. Jake (McDivitt) played No. 4 last year and moved up three spots. For comparison, their fourth man from the same timeframe played No. 5 today. I'm proud of how we battled and, as weird as this might sound, it's encouraging that this feels disappointing. It wasn't the outcome we wanted but we know good things are ahead."