FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Josh Friesen won all four of his matches for the men and Sarah Hinshaw doubled up on victories for the women Saturday as Goshen College opened its 65th season of varsity intercollegiate athletics with a tennis tri-match against the University of Saint Francis and Huntington University at Swinney Park.

The Maple Leaf men swept a 7-0 decision from host Saint Francis, which salvaged a split with a 5-2 decision in the women's match. Huntington topped the Maple Leafs twice, by a 5-2 men's score and a 6-1 women's margin.
Friesen paired with Goshen debutant Javier Gallego Murcia to start the day with a 6-2 victory at no. 1 doubles while sophomore Wesley Beck and freshman Insee Akarapan sealed the doubles point with a 6-4 victory. In an unusual turn of events, they also finished a doubles sweep: with neither team fielding a full lineup, there were only two doubles matches.

Goshen (1-1) immediately added a third victory in singles, as the Cougars (0-2) defaulted at no. 5 singles, but not a fourth, since neither lineup extended far enough to play at no. 6. In the remaining four matches, the Leafs cruised to victory, with six of the eight sets being decided by three games or more.

In the women's match, Saint Francis (1-1) broke a doubles deadlock with a 9-7 tiebreaker win at the second spot to take the first point of the match. Sarah Hinshaw and Hannah McCoy earned the Maple Leafs' victory at no. 1 by a 6-3 count.
Goshen (0-2) took the first two singles matches off the court, pulling ahead 2-1 after Meaghan Godzisz blanked her opponent in the second set of her college career and Hinshaw won 6-4, 6-3 at the second spot. That was all the Maple Leafs would get, though, as USF swept the last four matches to emerge victorious.

The day's second match began on time, but in true 2020 fashion, things went awry: on a picturesque, sunny 78-degree day, the match was delayed by weather. While there was no precipitation to be found, gusty winds detached the windscreen from part of the tennis center's fence. With the screen flapping in the breeze and almost reaching the court, two of the eight courts were ruled unplayable, leaving 14 matches to be played on six courts.

Huntington's women and Goshen's men each came up short with lineups of five players rather than the requisite six, prompting defaults to the opponent at no. 6 singles and no. 3 doubles in each match. The Forester women opened their season by sweeping the six remaining matches; at the bottom two singles spots, McCoy and Ashley Arroyo each forced tiebreakers before coming up short in the extra sessions.

Down one doubles match due to the default, Goshen leveled the score as Friesen and Gallego Murcia posted a 6-3 victory at the top doubles spot, but Huntington took the deciding match 6-3 at no. 2 to claim the doubles point.
Huntington (1-0) clinched the match by taking a 4-0 lead as Alejo Begnera and Illia Turaba won at nos. 1 and 4 singles respectively. The Maple Leafs got on the board with a victory from Akarapan in straight sets at no. 2 before Friesen finished the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win at no. 3.

"I was very happy with our team's effort in the first matches of the season," said Goshen director of tennis Evan Atkinson. "It was great to get our newcomers some valuable experience for the upcoming month of matches. I am hopeful that we can continue to improve and stay healthy."

Huntington finished its sweep of the tri-match in the nightcap with a 7-0 victory in men's action and a 4-3 win by the women. The Foresters are tied with Indiana Wesleyan atop the absurdly early conference standings on both sides of the gender ledger.
The Maple Leafs are slated to return to action Tuesday in another conference tri-match that will bring them to the midway point of their conference season. Goshen travels to Marion, Indiana, to play host Indiana Wesleyan at 9:30 a.m. followed by a neutral-site match against Bethel at 1 p.m. The men's and women's matches against Bethel will also serve as the first two contests in the U.S. Highway 20 Cup series for 2020-21.

Men: Goshen 7, Saint Francis 0

Singles:
1. Javier Gallego Murcia (GC) def. Tannon Dishman 6-1, 6-1
2. Insee Akarapan (GC) def. Jared May 6-4, 6-2
3. Josh Friesen (GC) def. Austin Schofield 6-3, 6-1
4. Wesley Beck (GC) def. Steve Mullaney 6-2, 7-5
5. GC by default
6. Both teams defaulted

Doubles:
1. Friesen/Gallego Murcia (GC) def. Dishman/May 6-2
2. Akarapan/Beck def. Mullaney/Schofield 6-4
3. Both teams defaulted

Records: Goshen 1-0, Saint Francis 0-1

Women: Saint Francis 5, Goshen 2

Singles:
1. Meaghan Godzisz (GC) def. Sarah Liter 6-1, 6-0
2. Sarah Hinshaw (GC) def. Jessica Henlines 6-4, 6-3
3. Regina Faber (USF) def. Victoria Oakes 6-4, 6-2
4. Maddy DeRoo (USF) def. Hannah McCoy 1-6, 6-4, (11-9)
5. Christina King (USF) def. Ashley Arroyo 6-2, 6-0
6. Sophia Vandegriff (USF) def. Elsie Koop Liechty 6-0, 6-1

Doubles:
1. Hinshaw/McCoy (GC) def. Faber/Liter 6-3
2. DeRoo/Henlines (USF) def. Godzisz/Oakes 7-6(7)
3. King/Vandegriff (USF) def. Arroyo/Koop Liechty 6-2

Records: Saint Francis 1-0, Goshen 0-1

Men: Huntington 5, Goshen 2

Singles:
1. Alejo Begnera (HU) def. Javier Gallego Murcia 6-4, 2-6, (10-6)
2. Insee Akarapan (GC) def. Rodrigo Manzo 7-6, 6-3
3. Josh Friesen (GC) def. Mateo Ameller 6-3, 6-3
4. Illia Turaba (HU) def. Wesley Beck 6-0, 6-0
5. Diego Tapia (HU) def. Caleb Shenk 6-0, 6-1
6. HU by default

Doubles

1. Friesen/Gallego Murcia (GC) def. Begnera/Turaba 6-3
2. Ameller/Tapia (HU) def. Akarapan/Beck 6-3
3. HU by default

Records: Huntington 1-0, Goshen 1-1
 
Women: Huntington 6, Goshen 1

Singles
1. Morgan Fitzpatrick (HU) def. Meaghan Godzisz 6-3, 6-1
2. Lanae Singleton (HU) def. Sarah Hinshaw 6-0, 6-3
3. Lisa Collings (HU) def. Victoria Oakes 6-0, 6-2
4. Molly Burton (HU) def. Hannah McCoy 7-6(4), 6-3
5. Alaina Rongos (HU) def. Ashley Arroyo 6-1, 3-6, (10-1)
6. GC by default

Doubles
1. Fitzpatrick/Singleton (HU) def. Hinshaw/McCoy 6-2
2. Burton/Colling (HU) def. Godzisz/Oakes 6-3
3. GC by default

Records: Huntington 1-0, Goshen 0-2