COVENANT RESULTS

ST. FRANCIS RESULTS

PHOTO GALLERY

ORLANDO,  Fla. – It was a scheduled filled with just about everything to begin spring break for the Otterbein men's tennis team, which split a pair of challenging matchups after their first contest was canceled.

Otterbein was slated to open against Wabash on Monday night before rain forced a cancelation. The match will unfortunately not be rescheduled.

The Cardinals then dropped a marathon slugfest with Covenant (L 5-3) on Tuesday before responding with a nice 6-3 triumph over St. Francis (Ill.) on Wednesday morning. Full highlights below!

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COVENANT RECAP:

It was a true back-and-forth showdown in front of nice crowd representation on both sides. Covenant picked up an initial point with an 8-4 victory at third doubles, but the other two lines went to the max…

Brandon Wall and Jamie Price fell ever-so-short on the top line in a 7-4 breaker. Otterbein flipped the script on line two, however, as Joshua Mammen and Jake McDivitt prevailed in extra points, 7-3.

Singles action was just as whacky. McDivitt won in straight sets at the No. 3 position while four other electric showdowns went into tiebreakers after splitting frames. Wall, Mammen and Newberry fell just shy while Boban Mihajlov emerged 10-8 in his winner-take-all race.

The Cardinals weren't going to win the overall match, but still had a chance to earn a fourth team point before Price's match was called prematurely. The veteran overcame a 7-5 loss in the first to 7-6 (on an 8-6 breaker) in the second. His lengthy bout would go unfinished as the lights had to be turned off at the USTA National Campus.

Covenant improved to 8-2 on the year with the decision, with the only defeats coming to Birmingham-Southern and Haverford.

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ST. FRANCIS RECAP:

Otterbein was forced to shake off that loss rather quickly, hitting the court very early Wednesday morning to battle with the Fighting Saints.

Wall and Price absorbed another tough result after going toe-to-toe on the first doubles line yet again, succumbing 7-3 in a breaker. Mammen and McDivitt cruised 8-1 and the tandem of Will Newberry/Dylan Shook won via forfeit.

Wall exacted a bit of revenge on Ignacio Hernandez by counts of 7-5, 6-4 but Mammen rested on the low side of a competitive three-setter… including a 10-6 breaker.

Price and Newberry won their courts in straight sets and Mihajlov benefited from a forfeit on the No. 6 line, helping clinch a W for the Cards.

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LOOKING AHEAD:

The Cards will have at two matches remaining as the week closes, taking on Hampden-Sydney and Ursinus over the next couple days.