LIMA, Ohio - The Goshen tennis teams faced some tough competition in Lima, Ohio on Thursday and Friday. The men lost to #5 Northwestern Ohio 1-6 and beat Arizona Christian, who is receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll, 4-3. The women were defeated by #17 Northwestern Ohio 0-7 and #23 Arizona Christian 1-6.
Men
This was the second time over the past month that the Goshen men have defeated a team receiving votes in the coaches poll.
The men lost the doubles point to UNOH but
Bruno Ferrera and Pedron Scattolon won at #3 doubles handily, 6-1. They both have a 5-6 record in doubles play this season.Â
Goshen lost the doubles point again against Arizona Christian. The #2 doubles matchup wasn't finished because the teams were playing until clinched, and the Firestorm won the point with wins at #1 and #3 doubles already. ACU won at #1 singles and led 2-0 overall. The Leafs came back to tie it 2-2 with wins from
Timo Novak at #2 singles and
Matija Margetic at #3 singles. The Firestorm won #4 singles and were just a point away from winning the match, but
Denis Stanculov kept Goshen alive with a 6-3, 6-3 win in #5 singles. Coming down to #6 singles,
Pedro Scattolon clinched it and Goshen won 4-3.
Novak, Margetic and Scattolon have each won 60% or more of their singles matches this season.
Women
Uliana Dotsenko and
Ariadna Otin O'Callaghan won at #2 doubles, 6-3, against Northwestern Ohio, but the Racers won the other two matchups to take the doubles point. That had been the fifth straight doubles victory for the pair, dating back to February 14 against Texas A&M-Texarkana during their Tennessee trip.
Blanka Bodo and
Uliana Dotsenko took their singles matches to three sets but couldn't prevail.Â
Agianst Arizona Christian,
Blanka Bodo and
Sara Nino were up 4-3 in #1 singles, but it ended since ACU already won the point with wins at #2 and #3 doubles. Bodo and
Sara Nino were on the losing side of matches that went to three sets, losing tiebreakers. Dotsenko won her #2 singles match after her opponent retired. Dotsenko won the first set 6-1 and was up 1-0 in the second set.
Goshen is at Olivet Nazarene on Friday, March 14.
