MARION, Ind. — A quartet of Maple Leafs won a pair of matches Tuesday as the Goshen College men's tennis team salvaged a doubleheader split and leveled the score of the U.S. Highway 20 Cup, losing 7-0 to Indiana Wesleyan and topping Bethel 6-1 at IWU's Sutter Tennis Courts.

The Wildcats, who finished last season ranked 14th in the NAIA, made quick work of Goshen in the opener with a 6-0 victory at no. 3 doubles along with a 6-4 win at no. 1 to seal the doubles point.

Freshman Javier Gallego Murcia was the bright spot at the top of the singles lineup for the Maple Leafs (2-2, 2-2 Crossroads League), forcing his first set to go the distance before falling 7-5 and dropping the second set 6-3.

Junior Josh Friesen lost his first singles match of the young season but stretched IWU's Grant Esposito out to a 6-1, 6-3 margin at no. 4 singles in the second-closest match of the morning.

As the host institution for the Crossroads League tri-match, Indiana Wesleyan had a break between its matches while the Maple Leafs turned around quickly and played local rival Bethel in a match that began at 2 p.m.

Insee Akarapan and Danny Boussom opened the second match with a doubles victory at no. 2, needing just eight games to post a win, while Friesen and Gallego Murcia teamed up for their third win of the year at the top spot to cinch the doubles point.

GC ripped off four straight-set wins on the singles court, clinching the team match with their third win of the four. Boussom and Friesen tied for the lopsided win of the session, each posting a 6-0 win and a 6-2 win, while Shenk added his first collegiate win to the ledger with a 7-5, 6-0 mark at no. 6.

Sophomore Wesley Beck had the lone three-set match of the day, prevailing 11-9 in a match tiebreaker at no. 5 after winning his first set in a tiebreaker and losing the second in a 12th and final game.

Bethel's lone victory came at no. 2, where Akarapan retired in the second-set tiebreak with the team match decided.

The victory squared the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry trophy score at 1-1; Bethel took the lead with its women's tennis victory Tuesday afternoon only for GC to equalize less than half an hour later.

"One of the things we have learned quickly this season is that playing two sets of matches back-to-back takes more out of you than you realize," said Goshen director of tennis Evan Atkinson. "It stayed in the 70s in Goshen today, but got up to 89 at Indiana Wesleyan, and the temperature is even hotter on a hard court for six or seven hours."

With half of the conference schedule in the books, Goshen is 2-2 overall and in conference play to tie for fourth in the Crossroads League. The Maple Leafs and Indiana Wesleyan are the only two CL schools that have played all four scheduled matches; with Saint Francis and Grace scheduled to join them on Thursday.

GC has two days off before playing three times in 28 hours to start the weekend. The Maple Leafs host Judson in a non-conference match at 4 p.m. Friday.

First Match: Indiana Wesleyan 7, Goshen 0

Singles
1. Martin Carrizo (IWU) def. Javier Gallego Murcia 7-5, 6-3
2. Stefano di Aloy (IWU) def. Insee Akarapan 6-0, 6-1
3. Eli Steiner (IWU) def. Danny Boussom 6-1, 6-1
4. Grant Esposito (IWU) def. Josh Friesen 6-1, 6-3
5. Isaac Steiner (IWU) def. Wesley Beck 6-0, 6-1
6. Trey Thixton (IWU) def. Caleb Shenk 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
1. Carrizo/Di Aloy (IWU) def. Friesen/Gallego Murcia 6-4
2. Esposito/I. Steiner (IWU) def. Akarapan/Boussom 6-4
3. Mariano Jalif/E. Steiner (IWU) def. Beck/Shenk 6-0

Records: IWU 3-0 (3-0 Crossroads League); Goshen 1-2 (1-2)
 
Second Match: Goshen 6, Bethel 1

Singles
1. Javier Gallego Murcia (GC) def. Kurtis Davis 6-4, 6-3
2. Wes Troyer (BU) def. Insee Akarapan 1-6, 6-6 (3-0), retired
3. Danny Boussom (GC) def. Jerad Bos 6-0, 6-2
4. Josh Friesen (GC) def. Brian Shembarger 6-2, 6-0
5. Wesley Beck (GC) def. Jeryl Weaver 6-7, 7-5, (11-9)
6. Caleb Shenk (GC) def. Jayson LaGrou 7-5, 6-0

Doubles
1. Friesen/Gallego Murcia (GC) def. Shembarger/Weaver 6-4
2. Akarapan/Boussom (GC) def. Bos/Davis 6-2
3. Max Blumentritt/Troyer (BU) def. Beck/Shenk 6-3

Records: Bethel 0-2 (0-2); Goshen 2-2 (2-2)