Franklin (Ind.) Spoils Senior Day

DEFIANCE, OHIO  – The three Defiance College seniors looked to celebrate their final home match with an important Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory but were spoiled by the visiting Franklin (Ind.) College Grizzlies. The Jackets did not fall easily as the final score showed Franklin victorious 5-4 after the Grizzlies earned the deciding point in the final match.

That point occurred at the six singles position where DC sophomore Tory Savage (Bryan) fell in one of the most intense matches of the season by a score of 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

The first Defiance (10-7, 5-3 HCAC) point came at the hands of the number two doubles pairing of senior Ryan Nelson (Oregon/Clay) and sophomore James DeMeo (Oregon/Clay). The duo defeated their opponents 8-5.

Singles saw the teams even, splitting the points 3-3. The middle of the lineup proved to be DC's strongest as DeMeo won at second singles, Nelson at third, and senior Justin Walker (Wilson, N.C. /Hunt) in the four slot. DeMeo handled his challenger 6-2, 6-0. Nelson split the first two sets before taking the third after trailing 0-5 to earn a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory. Walker showed similar resilience after dropping the first set before pushing forward to win the second two. The final score for his match was 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

The Yellow Jackets will continue competition as they clinched a position in the HCAC post season tournament for the third consecutive season. The tournament is set for Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 in Indianapolis, Ind. The times and matchups have yet to be determined.