GOSHEN, Ind. — A tense doubles segment opened the door for a singles comeback Friday afternoon for the Goshen College men's tennis team, which won six of the last seven matches off the courts for a 6-3 victory over Judson University at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.
Martim Cafe and Josh Friesen each won a pair of matches for the Maple Leafs (2-0) after combining for Goshen's doubles win, a 9-7 triumph at the number-two position over Judson's Brandon Courcelles and Luke Hancox.
All three doubles matches finished with the minimum two-game margin; the Eagles, who were playing their season opener, prevailed 8-6 at the top spot and 9-7 at no. 3 in matches that took nearly an hour and a half. But by the time singles play concluded at almost 9 p.m., five hours after the first ball, the scoreboard told a different story.
Judson had won the first two doubles matches before Cafe and Friesen got on the board, so the Maple Leafs entered singles play on a one-match winning streak. Kartikeya Sharma, Danny Boussom, and Evan Beck all continued that streak as it quadrupled: Judson won three or more games in five of the six sets at nos. 4, 1 and 6, respectively, but GC ultimately took all three matches in straight sets to make up the doubles deficit for a 4-2 lead.
Cafe got the honor of sealing the team match with another win over Hancox, this time at no. 3 singles. The sophomore from Dubai needed a tiebreaker to claim the opening set 7-6(3) but walked off with a 6-3 win in the second set, officially giving his team its second win of the week.
The teams would go on to split a pair of three-set matches; however, since those matches began their third sets before the team match was decided, both played full third sets in lieu of 10-point tiebreakers. Judson's Christopher Kerswell won at no. 2 while Friesen claimed victory at no. 5.
Goshen's win was the first against Judson after dropping the match in both 2016 and 2017.
The Maple Leafs will head to the Chicago area on Monday, but not to face Roosevelt University as originally planned. GC will instead visit Dowling Park in Hammond, Indiana, to meet Purdue University Northwest from NCAA Division II. The Roosevelt match originally scheduled for Monday will now transpire on September 29.
Comments from GC head coach Evan Atkinson to come when available.
Full Results: Goshen 6, Judson 3
Singles:
1. Danny Boussom (GC) def. Christopher Veltkamp 7-5, 6-3
2. Christopher Kerswell (JU) def. Juan Miguel Ciudad 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
3. Martim Cafe (GC) def. Joel Hancox 7-6(3), 6-3
4. Kartikeya Sharma (GC) def. Dimitri Ingrassia 6-4, 6-2
5. Josh Friesen (GC) def. Marcus Berg 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
6. Evan Beck (GC) def. Nigel Ncube 6-4, 7-5
Doubles:
1. Kerswell/Veltkamp (JU) def. Boussom/Sharma 8-6
2. Cafe/Friesen (GC) def. Brandon Courcelles/Hancox (JU) 9-7
3. Berg/Ingrassia (JU) def. Ciudad/Luke Rush 9-7
