| Box Score 2 WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's tennis squad wrapped up its brief non-traditional fall schedule over the weekend, as a pair of Cardinals took part in the annual ITA Central Regional Championships down at in St. Louis.

The month started when the group ventured up to nearby Mount Vernon Nazarene and bested the Cougars 6-1, playing by Division II rules and the best-of-seven points. Otterbein swept all three doubles points to garner that initial point, and then took all but one singles court..

All five winning Cardinals (Brandon Wall, Jake McDivitt, Will Newberry, Dylan Shook and Nate Stevens) prevailed in straight sets.

Otterbein then came up just shy in a 5-4 loss at Grove City College. Wall/McDivitt and Newberry/Shook both won doubles matchups to help the Cards settle into an early 2-1 cushion…

However, the Wolverines countered to win on the bottom four singles courts to escape on their home surface. Wall (6-1, 6-1) and McDivitt (6-2, 6-2) cruised at lines one and two, respectively.
Shook and Boban Mihajlov battled admirably in their contests before coming up short in third sets.

"Fall was always going to be difficult stemming from a lot of questions marks in July," head coach Tyler Stephen said. "We didn't know what our roster might look like, so doing anything in the fall regarding a few weeks of practice and some competition was beneficial. It was good to see everyone and work on some aspects that will directly impact us in the spring."

Wall and McDivitt then represented Otterbein at ITA's, hosted this time around by Wash U down in The Show-Me State. They knocked off a duo from Wabash (8-3) in the doubles portion before coming up shy to defending national champions James Hopper and Vishwa Aduru of Case Western in the Round of 32.

McDivitt went 1-1 in singles play before Wall pressed on for a huge piece of history, becoming the first player in the program to ever make the Round of 16 individually. He knocked off Logan Langovsky (JCU) for starters before also sending Rafael Rodriguez (Greenville) packing by scores of 6-4, 6-3.

Wall returned for day two against U-Chicago standout Emil Grantcharov, ultimately succumbing to his opponent 2-6, 2-6.

The Aussie, former OAC Player of the Year in 2021, is back for his second stint at Otterbein after three initial years as a Cardinal. He spent last season as a grad transfer at Midwestern State in Texas.

"We knew him returning was a possibility but didn't necessarily expect it," Stephen began. "But we are happy to welcome him back. He knows what we offer and is comfortable with our family atmosphere. In addition to natural talent, his work ethic is remarkable and rubs off on others as a daily example of success. I see him enjoying teammates a vice versa. It will be exciting to watch him finish his college career as a Cardinal."

Otterbein will take some time off before getting back to the grind this winter, prepping for what should be yet another memorable campaign throughout the spring. The Cards were 9-8 overall last year before coming up short in the OAC Tournament semifinals.