MAYFIELD, Ohio – Almost anything you could name, the matchup between Otterbein and John Carroll on the men's tennis scene likely had it Saturday night.

In another tightly-contested showdown between the two league rivals, John Carroll would emerge by the slimmest of margins (5-4) at Mayfield Racquet Club to create some drama atop the OAC standings.

John Carroll has now defeated Otterbein… but the Cardinals topped Ohio Northern, who bested John Carroll. A win tomorrow by the Cards against Mount Union would create a three-way tie for the regular-season crown.

With a victory, Otterbein would most likely still earn the No. 1 seed in next week's OAC Tournament.

NOTABLE MOMENTS:

• Jamie Price and Brandon Wall endured a dogfight at first doubles before settling on the low end of a nail-biting 8-7 result. JCU's top tandem emerged 7-5 in a breaker.
   
• Joshua Mammen and Jake McDivitt absolutely rolled 8-2 at the No. 2 line, but Dylan Shook and Boban Mihajlov couldn't quite generate enough in falling 8-5.
   
• The Cardinals, playing without No. 5 Will Newberry due to injury, then looked to regroup in singles action. JCU won a pair of matches on the four/six lines but McDivitt was dominant in a 6-2, 6-1 victory at third singles.
   
• Wall went the distance but emerged in a third set by final counts of 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. That tied the overall team score (4-4) until the Blue Streaks secured the decisive point at fifth singles.
   
• Despite that outcome, Mammen still was in play and experienced a memorable showdown at No. 2 singles that saw all kinds of theatrics. In the end, he would stand on top by lines scores of 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 after a culminating breaker of 7-4.

 
SUNDAY FUNDAY:

• The Cards make the trip back to campus and will have to reset quickly for the arrival of Mount Union, with opening serves slated for 1 p.m.