GOSHEN, Ind. — Hours after leveling its conference record at 1-1 with a sweep of Bethel College, the Goshen College men's tennis team held out until the final match on the courts in dropping a 5-4 decision to Judson University to split an ersatz doubleheader Saturday on the GC courts.
In the Maple Leafs' opener, they took each singles match in straight sets Sophomore Eric Zuercher dropped just two games, both in the first set, as he cruised to a win at no. 2 singles, but that wasn't even his team's most lopsided win. That honor went to freshman Evan Beck at no. 6 singles, who claimed a 6-0, 6-0 win over Pilot Sid Petersen.
Goshen (1-2, 1-1 Crossroads League) also eased through doubles play, using three breaks of serve in two separate matches to post 8-2 wins at both the no. 1 and no. 3 spots.
"We were happy to jump out to early leads in the first and third doubles spots—we started tentatively at no. 2 but that sorted itself out in the last five games [which the Maple Leafs won in order]," said Goshen director of tennis Evan Atkinson. "Starting 3-0 after doubles play really has a huge mental advantage, the same one that hurt us against Grace."
While the Maple Leafs won all 12 singles sets, two of them were tied as late as 5-5: Aritha Weerasinghe won his first set in a tiebreak at no. 1, while Juan Miguel Ciudad used a break of serve in his final return game to win the match 6-3, 7-5 at no. 4.
"I believe Aritha was the more talented player, but we have to fight his belief that he is overmatched at 1 singles, because he's showing he can compete with anyone," Atkinson said. "His first set was tight but after he gained some confidence the second set was more straightforward. Juan's opponent had a strong serve and good hands that kept him in his match until Juan got a late break and hold to finish the job. And I think it was really important for Evan Beck to get such a solid confidence building win after struggling a bit in early camp and his first match."
After a sweep in the opener, the nightcap's team score was level at 1-1, 3-3 and 4-4. Judson used a 7-3 tiebreaker victory at no. 3 doubles to take a 2-1 team lead at the end of that segment.
"Two doubles (Weerasinghe and Luke Rush) played exceptionally well as we struggled a bit early but owned the late part of the match," said Atkinson. "Luke Rush really asserted his dominance on top of the net to put pressure on Judson. No. 3 doubles was back and forth the entire match, and it proved to be the first of many tiebreakers that we would play in the day. After giving up an early break, no. 1 doubles fought back to 4-5, but unfortunately that's where the comeback ended."
The back-and-forth match continued into singles play. Each team posted a quick win, Judson at no. 5 singles and Goshen at no. 2. Atkinson observed that his no. 5 player, Eric Cender, was playing his second match of the day after a grueling opener, noting that "Eric and his (Bethel) opponent seemed to run each other all over our campus during their match."
The split gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead and each team claimed the first set at two of the remaining four positions.
"All four matches were ultra-competitive and could have gone either way," Atkinson said. "Evan Beck kept trading breaks and keeping himself alive at no. 6, and after winning the first set at no. 3 Kartikeya Sharma had some cramping issues in his second match of the day."
Each team won two of the four second sets as well – and as luck would have it, all four remaining matches went the distance. With the inter-conference match not subject to any additional regulation beyond the rules of tennis, the coaches determined that the 10-point super tiebreak would be used in lieu of a full set to determine the winners.
The first tiebreak off the courts was also the longest, with Beck coming back from a 9-5 deficit to win 16-14 and square the team match at 3-all. Weerasinghe followed him off with a 10-7 win at no. 1.
"Evan fought off eight match points until he got his first at 14-13, and he squandered that one but not the next," Atkinson said. "Aritha continued his slow starting ways but battled in the 2nd set to force a super tiebreak of his own. And at no. 4, Juan played well and forced his opponent to come up with great stuff to win. Unfortunately he did that."
With Ciudad's match settled, the team score stood at 4-4. The team match came down to the final position, at no. 3 singles where Judson's Carlos Callau faced Goshen's Kartikeya Sharma.
"In many respects, this was the match of the day," Atkinson said, even after processing that the match two spots lower included nine saved match points. Sharma had won the first set 6-2 and led the second 4-3 before taking a medical timeout. He returned and lost three games in succession to send the match to a tiebreak, but took five of the first six points there.
"It's exciting for me, as a coach, to watch great shots and decisions," Atkinson said. "I'm sometimes disappointed in the results, but couldn't be happier watching our guys process through these intense moments. Kart blasted forehand after forehand and Carlos played magnificent defense. We missed some opportunities, and credit to Carlos for playing really quality tennis forcing Kart to make some unforced errors down the stretch."
Callau won 10 of the last 14 points and claimed the tiebreak 11-9, winning his first collegiate singles match and taking with it the team match. The Eagles, who participate in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and play most of their schedule in the spring, improved to 1-0 on the season.
"Judson was a really fun group to play against, so skilled and filled with energy," Atkinson said. "They have fun on the court and are very positive players. They were also by far the most talented team we've played against in our early season. I still think there is room for us to grow, and we showed a lot of fight in a tightly contested match against a strong opponent. I think this match will be an excellent confidence builder heading into a tough week of tennis in the Crossroads League."
The Maple Leafs, who finished second in the conference a season ago, face the teams that sandwiched them this week: third-place Indiana Wesleyan at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Marion and defending champion Marian at 1 p.m. Saturday in Indianapolis. Goshen also plays Anderson in a non-conference affair on Thursday afternoon.
Goshen 9, Bethel 0
1S. Aritha Weerasinghe (G) def. Jacob Macri 7-6, 6-2
2S. Eric Zuercher (G) def. Luke Prude 6-2, 6-0
3S. Kartikeya Sharma (G) def. Jose Morales 6-2, 6-2
4S. Juan Miguel Ciudad (G) def. Matt Kempf 6-3, 7-5
5S. Eric Cender (G) def. Brad Foster 6-4, 6-2
6S. Evan Beck (G) def. Sid Peterson 6-0, 6-0
1D. Zuercher/Sharma (G) def. Macri/Kempf 8-2
2D. Weerasinghe/Luke Rush (G) def. Prude/Foster 8-5
3D. Ciudad/Cender (G) def. Bobby Eberle/Chad Van Dosen 8-2
Judson 5, Goshen 4
1S. Aritha Weerasinghe (G) def. John Mittvick 2-6, 6-3, (10-7)
2S. Eric Zuercher (G) def. Elisha Hougland 6-4, 6-3
3S. Carlos Callau (J) def. Kartikeya Sharma 2-6, 6-4, (11-9)
4S. Erik Jorson (J) def. Juan Miguel Ciudad 6-4, 2-6, (10-7)
5S. Riley Rowan (J) def. Eric Cender 6-3, 6-2
6S. Evan Beck (G) def. Josh Gronoski 3-6, 7-5, (16-14)
1D. Mittvick/Hougland (J) def. Zuercher/Sharma 8-4
2D. Weerasinghe/Rush (G) def. Callau/Jorson 8-5
3D. Rowan/Gronoski (J) def. Ciudad/Cender 9-8(3)
