ORLANDO, Fla. – The Otterbein men's tennis squad now stands a healthy 7-3 on the season following a rather challenging spring break trip, taking on a quartet or formidable opponents after the initial match with Wabash was cancelled due to weather.

Nevertheless, the Cardinals overcame a Thursday loss to Hampden-Sydney (6-3) to finish the trip on a high note by sneaking out a 5-4 win over previously unbeaten Ursinus.

-----
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY RECAP:

Both sides traded points in some knock down, drag-it-out contests. Otterbein found itself in a tough hole after dropping all three doubles courts, including a tight 8-7 loss on the second line involving Joshua Mammen and Jake McDivitt.

The Cardinals didn't go quietly and applied pressure throughout singles action. Brandon Wall emerged 6-1, 6-3 on the top line and McDivitt posted a quick 6-0, 6-0 shutout at the No. 3 position…

Jamie Price overcame a tight first-set loss to win the next two by going 6-3, 6-3 against Taylor Fox. Mammen went the distance before settling on the low end of a tiebreaker at second singles, trading 6-3 counts until running out of juice in a 10-7 breaker.

-----
URSINUS RECAP:

Otterbein handed the Bears (now 7-1) their first loss of the season despite only taking one doubles matchup, coming via Will Newberry and Dylan Shook on the third line at 8-5. The Cards fell on the other two courts by very competitive 8-4 and 8-6 tallies.

But have no fear… as the Cards flew back in singles play to win the top-three lines and also watch Boban Mihajlov prevail in a lengthy contest at No. 6 singles. Wall, Mammen and McDivitt also cruised on their courts in straight sets.

Mihajlov won 7-5 before dropping the middle frame 4-6. He admirably gathered himself throughout a long breaker, ultimately finding enough room to win by a 12-10 cushion and secure the critical point. Newberry nearly made it six points for the Cards in his showdown but rested shy in a 10-8 winner-take-all breaker.

-----

LOOKING AHEAD:
Otterbein Will enjoy a full 12 days off to regroup before heading over to play Wittenberg on Wednesday, March 22. OAC play then begins two days later against Capital.