By Tony Miller
Sports Information Director
MARION, Ind. — A late doubles push and some budding second-set singles success proved insufficient for Goshen College to halt Indiana Wesleyan University on Thursday as the top-seeded Wildcats eliminated the fifth-seeded Maple Leafs from the Crossroads League tournament with a 5-0 win at IWU's Sutter Tennis Center.
Indiana Wesleyan (14-0) took early leads in all three doubles matches. Ironically for a team called the Wildcats, they would watch their opponents claw their way back in to almost even the score. In matches interrupted twice by weather on a misty October afternoon, Lukas Kanther and Luke Rush won four of five games to close within 7-6 in the eight-game pro set at no. 2. One rung lower down the ladder, Aritha Weerasinghe and Eric Zuercher claimed five out of six games to pull within a game after falling behind 6-1.
Finishing the comebacks proved a different story, however: IWU served out the set at both positions. Combined with a 5-1 run to break open a no. 1 doubles match that had been tied 3-3, the hosts took a 3-0 lead into singles play.
"Tonight made us realize the level we need to reach to be at the top of the Crossroads League," said Goshen director of tennis Evan Atkinson. "IWU is a very strong team and has yet to be tested this season. They have depth down the lineup: it says something when an ITA quarterfinalist in 2016 is your sixth this year."
"Our doubles started slowly, but we started to show what we are capable of," Atkinson continued. "If we could play consistently at the level in which we made our comeback we would be a solid team. Both teams showed moments of grit and toughness and it was definitely a positive to play better in doubles."
The doubles results left Goshen (7-6) needing to win five of six singles matches to advance, a reality made all the more grim by the conference tournament's procedures. While regular-season matches are played to their natural conclusion, allowing a team to finish (and win) individual matches after the team winner is decided, the CL tournament's semifinals and finals halt play once one team claims five wins.
That point came two matches into singles action as the Wildcats posted straight-set wins at the bottom two spots. Goshen's Kartikeya Sharma was up a set and 2-1 at no. 3 singles while IWU's Eli Steiner led a set and 3-1 at the top spot. The number-two match between Goshen's Eric Zuercher and IWU's Daniel Zolnikov was locked in a first-set tiebreak while Aritha Weerasinghe and Joel Montgomery were en route to splitting sets.
"Since the semifinal ends at five points, we knew it was going to be important to come out of the gate strong," Atkinson said. "We had to stay on the court in singles if we wanted to finish the match. Kart was playing strong and Aritha had a lead in the second set. Eric was playing high level tennis and it was disappointing that he was unable to finish his tiebreak."
The Wildcats advanced to the conference tournament championship for the second straight fall: they will host second-seeded Marian for the title on Saturday.
Goshen will return to the court one more time this fall, making up a match with Indiana Tech that was postponed on September 20 in order for the Maple Leafs to make up a conference match. The match has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 10 at the GC courts with first serve set for 4:30 p.m.
Full Results: Indiana Wesleyan 5, Goshen 0 (played to decision)
Singles
1. Juan Miguel Ciudad (GC) vs. Eli Steiner, unfinished
2. Eric Zuercher (GC) vs. Daniel Zolnikov, unfinished
3. Kartikeya Sharma (GC) vs. Gavin White, unfinished
4. Aritha Weerasinghe (GC) vs. Joel Montgomery, unfinished
5. Austin Christner (IWU) def. Lukas Kanther 6-1, 6-2
6. Tyler Abbott (IWU) def. Evan Beck 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1. Steiner/Zolnikov (IWU) def. Ciudad/Sharma 8-4
2. Jacob Rankin/White (IWU) def. Kanther/Luke Rush 8-6
3. Christner/Montgomery (IWU) def. Weerasinghe/Zuercher 8-6
