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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – They were a pair of tough results in the spring opener on campus for both tennis programs on Saturday, beginning in the morning and ending with competitive losses to nearby Cedarville University.

The women's side came up short in a 6-3 defeat, while men's showdown also featured multiple tiebreakers before the visitors prevailed 8-1 at the Lindner Courts.
The women now stand 6-3 this year and the men's group falls back to an even 4-4, with plenty of tennis yet to be played.

WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS:

Cedarville (12-4) captured two of three doubles courts despite a back-and-forth showdown at the first line, where Erin Storrer and Olivia Eckels rested on the low end of an 8-5 affair. Lillia Walter and Aubrey McMahon stayed the course to emerge in a breaker, pulling away comfortably at 7-1.

Walter became a double winner on the day by virtue of her workmanlike 6-3, 6-4 outcome at second doubles, while Eckels broke through into the win column with a gritty performance. She snuck out a 9-7 breaker in her first set and then grinded to win critical points in a 6-4 second.

Storrer had a dogfight atop the board against Cedarville ace Diana Ivanikhana trading 7-6 results over the first two sets behind momentum-shifting breakers. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jacket standout would claim a few timely points late to win a 10-3 winner-take-all frame.

MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS:

Max Fickas and Neil Reddy nearly went the distance atop the doubles board until settling with an 8-6 loss, while Joshua Mammen and Jake Chilcote were just a few sets back in their second-line matchup.

Mammen represented Otterbein's lone point at No.2 singles behind an admirable journey to the winner's circle, dropping the first set 4-6 before storming back. He dominated the second set (6-1) and then prevailed 10-7 in the decisive breaker.

Will Newberry nearly did the same on the fifth line after a 4-6 opening set, also cruising to a 6-1 outcome in the set. His breaker went into nail-biting extra points before his opponent, Barry King, stood on top 13-11.

Fickas, Chilcote and Reddy all won multiple games in each of their sets before succumbing to counterparts.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The men will have 13 days off to regroup before conference play but the women's side will have a trio of non-conference outings against Denison (3/20), Kenyon and Earlham to near the end of March.