By: byT.J. Greggs
Men's Box Score |
Women's Box Score
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The men's and women's tennis teams dropped their matches today to the University of Dayton by identical 4-3 counts after handing the Flyers the doubles point in both matches and splitting the six singles matches in each.
Both matches followed the same pattern, as the Owls continued their struggles in doubles. The lone bright spot came at No. 3 doubles for the women, as the pairing of juniors Ayano Tanaka and Agatha Palider picked up the win 8-5 over their Dayton opponents.
"This was about as frustrating a match as I have coached," commented women's head coach Brandon Padgett. "We quite honestly didn't put up a fight at all in the top 2 doubles flights, and I don't know how you coach a team that isn't willing to fight."
In the singles portion of the women's match, the Flyers (1-1) started off by downing the Owls (1-3) at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions in straight sets. The Owls fought back to take No. 5 singles after Agatha Palider dug out of a 6-3, 5-1 hole to keep the Owls alive, rallying for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory in a stunning turnaround. Following Palider's win were wins by Mackenzie Swindall and Therese Lagerkvist at the No. 4 and No. 6 positions, respectively. Ayano Tanaka also fought back from the brink of defeat in the second set of her match, but fell in the final set by a 6-2 margin for the final 4-3 count in favor of the Flyers.
In the men's contest, all three doubles teams went down to defeat, after tight contests all went the way of the Flyers (2-4). The Owls (1-4) also fell in the first singles match which was completed, with Tyler Mills dropping his fifth straight match in straight sets at the No. 1 spot.
The Owls gathered some steam when Simon Janik closed out his opponent in straight sets and Gianni Kubin stretched his match into a third set, but Kubin faded away in the third set to put the Owls in a 3-1 hole. As in the women's match, the men fought back to 3-3 after easy wins at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, with Michael Langel and Elliot Kahler picking up their second singles wins of the weekend. Both closed out their Dayton opponents in straight sets to set up the deciding point at No. 6 singles. Unfortunately, Ryan Bouttell was never able to handle the serve of his Dayton opponent, and fell 6-3, 7-5 to give the Flyers their first Division I victory of the year.
"At a certain point, we have to stop trying not to lose," commented men's head coach T.J. Greggs. "We can't be satisfied with coming close anymore. We have to start taking the opportunities that are presented to us in matches, or this is going to be a rough season."
The Owls will return to the courts next weekend when both teams travel to the state of Alabama to face of with the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Alabama State, and Alabama A&M.
Results (Women)
Doubles:
1) Kirkland/Dickerhoof (UD) def. Iesha Holton/Vera Shkundina (KSU) 8-3
2) O'Connell/Grote (UD) def. Morgan Carney/Mackenzie Swindall (KSU) 8-4
3) Agatha Palider/Ayano Tanaka (KSU) def. Mathews/VanWallinghem 8-5
Singles:
1) Kirkland (UD) def. Vera Shkundina (KSU) 6-2, 6-4
2) Dickerhoof (UD) def. Ayano Tanaka (KSU) 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-2
3) Grote (UD) def. Iesha Holton (KSU) 7-5, 6-4
4) Mackenzie Swindall (KSU) def. Glankler (UD) 6-2, 7-5
5) Agatha Palider (KSU) def. O'Connell (UD) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
6) Therese Lagerkvist (KSU) def. VanWallingham (UD) 6-0, 6-2
Results (Men)
Doubles:
1) Sherman/West (UD) def. Justin Suesserman/Tyler Mills (KSU) 8-5
2) McCallum/Warnock (UD) def. Simon Janik/Michael Langel (KSU) 8-5
3) Salcedo/Wiegand (UD) def. Elliot Kahler/Gokalp Ozdemir (KSU) 8-4
Singles:
1) Sherman (UD) def. Tyler Mills (KSU) 7-5, 6-1
2) Simon Janik (KSU) def. Salcedo (UD) 6-4, 6-4
3) McCallum (UD) def. Gianni Kubin (KSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
4) Michael Langel (KSU) def. Warnock (UD) 6-2, 7-5
5) Elliot Kahler (KSU) def. West (UD) 6-3, 6-1
6) Wiegand (UD) def. Ryan Bouttell (KSU) 6-3, 7-5
