INDIANAPOLIS —The Goshen College men's tennis team gave the Maple Leaf athletic department a brief lead in the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry trophy series on Tuesday as GC blanked Bethel University 7-0 in the first of two Crossroads League matches played at Marian University. Goshen's second match, against a hosting Knight team that is receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll, was moved to the Indianapolis Healthplex due to passing thunderstorms, with Marian winning 7-0.

GC faced little trouble from the Pilots, winning by an aggregate score of 18-5 in doubles competition to claim the first team point, then adding a second point when BU was forced to adjust its lineup and default at no. 6 singles due to an injury sustained in doubles competition.

The Maple Leafs (3-7, 3-5) also sailed through the matches that were actually played, picking up two shutouts in complete sets and a third when Kevin Bollmann's opponent retired trailing 4-0. GC did not lose more than two games in any of the eight complete sets. Josh Friesen and Pedro Scattolon each dropped a single game in wins at no. 4 and no. 5 singles respectively.

The win gave Goshen a 1-½ lead in the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry trophy series, although Bethel would answer with a win in the women's competition to make the score 1½-1 at the end of the day.

The nightcap took a bit longer to decide, thanks to an inherent delay in switching sites and playing on a limited number of courts at the healthplex. While the Maple Leafs ended up dropping each of the matches against Marian, two of the doubles matches came down to a single break of serve while Scattolon and Insee Akarapan each won sets to force their singles matches into deciding match tiebreakers.

Thanks to a first-set tiebreaker and a third set, Scattolon's match was the last one off the court after 9:30 p.m., five hours after its scheduled start.

The split locks Goshen into the sixth place in the Crossroads League standings at 3-5 as the team finished its regular season. While the Maple Leafs know where they will finish and that they will play in the CL tournament beginning next week, they do not know who they will play since there are still three teams with a shot at the third seed after the last makeup matches are completed on Saturday.

GC returns to action on each of the next two days, hosting Trine at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Judson at 4 p.m. Thursday at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.

Full Results – Match 1: Goshen 7, Bethel 0

Singles
1. Kevin Bollmann def. Jerad Bos 4-0, retired
2. Jonah Anderson def. Wes Troyer 6-1, 6-2
3. Insee Akarapan def. Jalen Maust 6-1, 6-1
4. Josh Friesen def. Brandon Eash 6-0, 6-1
5. Scattolon def. Gabe Shembarger 6-1, 6-0
6. Goshen by default

Doubles – Goshen won team point 3-0
1. Friesen/Scattolon def. Bos/Troyer 6-3
2. Akarapan/Bollman def. Maust/Tanner Pistelli 6-1
3. Anderson/Mario Gomez def. Eash/Shembarger 6-1

Full Results – Match 2: (RV) Marian 7, Goshen 0

Singles
1. Hunter Sylvester def. Bollmann 6-0, 6-4
2. Mark Griffin def. Anderson 6-4, 6-2
3. Andy Ilett def. Akarapan 4-6, 6-0, (10-6)
4. Armando Lopez def. Friesen 6-0, 6-3
5. Ashwin Bhat def. Scattolon 7-6(5), 3-6, (10-6)
6. Dmitrii Voschenkov def. Gomez 6-1, 6-3

Doubles – Marian won team point 3-0
1. Griffin/Ilett def. Friesen/Scattolon 6-1
2. Greg Fulling/Jared Thomas def. Akarapan/Bollman 6-4
3. Lopez/Sylvester def. Anderson/Gomez 6-4