FORT WAYNE, Ind. — In the words of late New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, it ain't over till it's over. The Goshen College tennis team is grateful for that fact after coming back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat Indiana Tech 5-4 Saturday afternoon at Swinney Park in Fort Wayne.
The hosting Warriors, who concluded their fall season with the match, won two of the three doubles matches, with Luis Perez and Aritha Weerasinghe salvaging the lone Goshen point in a 9-7 thriller at no. 3. That put Indiana Tech up 2-1, a lead that expanded when the no. 3 and no. 4 singles matches finished in straight sets.
But the next two matches off the court went Goshen's way in third-set super tiebreakers, as Balazs Pirot won 10-8 and Jon Kaasa prevailed 10-4 following matching 4-6, 6-4 scorelines in the first two stanzas. With the Maple Leafs up a set and a break at the final two positions, Kartikeya Sharma and Eric Zuercher finished off the match to seal Goshen's escape with a 5-4 win.
The victory was Goshen's eighth of the season, moving the team to 8-1, but it was also a first. Goshen head coach Stan King has coached 203 career matches: according to the 17th-year maestro, Saturday marked the first time his team had rebounded from a 4-1 hole.
The Maple Leafs were the lone Crossroads League team to play out of conference Saturday, so Goshen remained 6-1 in league play. Conference leader Marian sat idle, while wins from third-place Grace and fourth-place Indiana Wesleyan prevented the Maple Leafs from clinching a top-two finish.
Goshen returns to the court for its conference finale on Tuesday against Grace. First serve is set for 4 p.m. at the Goshen College Tennis Complex. More, including comments from King, to come when available.
Full Results: Goshen 5, Indiana Tech 4
Singles:
1. Balazs Pirot (G) def. Joaquin Ferrando 4-6, 6-4, (10-8)
2. Jon Kaasa (G) def. Mikel Oscoz 4-6, 6-4, (10-4)
3. Nicholas Aguirre (IT) def. Aritha Weerasinghe 6-1, 6-4
4. Kino de Leon (IT) def. Vasanth Palanisamy 6-4, 6-2
5. Kartikeya Sharma (G) def. Alberto Tenias 6-4, 6-2
6. Eric Zuercher (G) def. Nicholas Tripanon 6-4, 6-4
Doubles:
1. Ferrando/Aguirre (IT) def. Kaasa/Palanisamy 8-2
2. Oscoz/Tenias (IT) def. Pirot/Zuercher 8-4
3. Luis Perez/Weerasinghe (G) def. de Leon/Rui Lima 9-7
