Quakers Slip Past Yellow Jackets

RICHMOND, IND. – Rain pushed the original meeting between the Defiance College Yellow Jackets and Earlham College (Ind.) Quakers back to Friday, April 24. DC traveled to Richmond, Ind. to take on the five-time Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champions for the penultimate matchup of the regular season and fell by a final score of 6-3.

Freshman Adam Swisher (Bedford, Mich. /Bedford) and sophomore Tory Savage (Bryan) led the way for Defiance (10-6, 5-2 HCAC) by picking up points in both singles and doubles action. Kicking things off, the duo (5-4, 3-4 HCAC) earned an early point at third doubles with an aggressive 8-3 final. Swisher (11-5, 6-1 HCAC) followed with a return to the fifth singles position in victorious fashion with a 6-4, 6-3 decision.  Following suite at six singles, Savage (8-7, 4-3 HCAC) claimed his win by a score of 6-4, 6-1.

Even in defeat, sophomore James DeMeo (Oregon/Clay) provided another strong performance for the Yellow Jackets at second singles. Once again, DeMeo (9-6, 5-2 HCAC) pushed his rival to a third set before falling 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (10-9) in a tiebreaker. The second doubles pairing of senior Ryan Nelson (Oregon/Clay) and DeMeo (6-3, 5-2 HCAC) fought valiantly before falling 8-5.

Defiance returns to action with only a few hours of rest as they host the Franklin (Ind.) College Grizzlies (7-5, 5-1 HCAC). After Friday's loss, Defiance fell to third place behind the Grizzlies by a half match in the HCAC standings. The match is schedule to begin at noon on Saturday, April 25 at the Dix Tennis Facility with the George M. Smart Center on reserve to battle poor weather. Prior to the match, the Yellow Jackets will honor three seniors for senior day.