GOSHEN, Ind. — In 1988, the Olympic Games were held in Seoul, South Korea; the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series; Chicago hit no. 1 on the Billboard charts with "Look Away"; and the Goshen College men's tennis team won 10 matches.
None of those had happened since—until Thursday night, when the Maple Leafs hit double digits in the win column for the first time in 27 years with a 7-2 win over Anderson University.
Eric Zuercher, Kartikeya Sharma, Michael Oyer and Siddath Ratnatunga cruised to straight-set singles wins, which gave Goshen a quick team win after claiming two of the three doubles matches.
For the second time in as many weeks, the Maple Leafs used a non-conference match as an opportunity to rest key regulars: the top four players in the usual singles lineup did not see action as the team prepares for conference tournament action.
"I was glad to have this match, because it was another opportunity for some of our players to be involved in a varsity contest," said head coach Stan King. "And of course I am proud of the way they came through."
Zuercher, Sharma, Oyer and Hans Miller started the team match with a pair of doubles victories, dropping a total of three games in the two matches. Rowan Miller and Zach Ganger formed the third doubles pair, taking a 5-4 lead before dropping a pair of service games and the match.
"We were able to set the tone for the match in doubles," said King. "Rowan and Zach played some good tennis to take the lead but weren't able to continue that standard, and the other two matches were just dominating."
Ganger won a no. 6 singles match that could have been dubbed the Zach Bowl, knocking off Zach Van Duyn 10-7 in the third-set super tiebreak. In the other match to go the distance, Hans Miller dropped the first set, then leveled the score with a 6-4 second set before losing in a super tiebreak of his own.
"Hans played well, using his all-court game to full advantage in the second set," King said. "On the whole, it was really good to see the guys put into play aspects of their games they've worked hard to develop during practices."
The team is the fifth in Goshen history to win 10 matches, and King becomes the fourth coach to do so: Roman Gingerich (1962) and John Ingold (1988) each led teams to 10-0 records, while Harold Yoder's squads went 11-1 in both 1981 and 1982.
Goshen's record improves to 10-1 on the season, and the Maple Leafs will have a chance to match the best record in school history on Saturday. Aquinas College serves as the opponent for the final contest of the regular season, with first serve set for 11 a.m. at the Goshen College Tennis Complex.
Full Results: Goshen 7, Anderson 2
Singles:
1. Eric Zuercher (G) def. Andrew Gingerich 6-1, 6-0
2. Kartikeya Sharma (G) def. Zach Edwards 6-0, 6-1
3. Michael Oyer (G) def. Jacob Hopper 6-2, 6-0
4. Chase Kimmerling (A) def. Hans Miller 7-6(3), 2-6, (10-7)
5. Siddath Ratnatunga (G) def. Eric Beck 6-1, 6-2
6. Zach Ganger (G) def. Zach Van Duyn 6-4, 1-6, (10-7)
Doubles:
1. Zuercher/Sharma (G) def Gingerich/Edwards 8-1
2. Oyer/H. Miller (G) def Hopper/Beck 8-2
3. Kimmerling/Van Duyn (A) def Ganger/Rowan Miller 8-5
