Yellow Jackets Tennis falls 5-4 to HCAC-leading Earlham
DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men’s tennis team came up short in an upset bid Wednesday afternoon, as the they took on conference leader Earlham, falling by a score of 5-4.
DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men's tennis team came up short in an upset bid Wednesday afternoon, as the they took on conference leader Earlham, falling by a score of 5-4.
Defiance, in the loss, was still able to pick up more set wins then any other team in conference against the HCAC leading Quakers. Previously, Earlham had not given up more than a single point to a conference opponent.
The Yellow Jackets got off to a slow start dropping the first two doubles matches. The Purple and Gold doubles team of Mike Ross and Ryan Nelson fell by a score of 8-3, moving their conference record to 3-3 on the season. Cord Speelman and Justin Walker also fell in the match by a score of 8-3.
The duo of James Demeo and Tony Savage rounded out the first half of the day for the Yellow Jackets picking up Defiance's only doubles win by a score of 8-2. The duo improved to 12-5 on the year in doubles matches and 3-3 in HCAC play as a pairing.
In the singles matches to follow, the Yellow Jackets struggled in the thirst first three ranked matches of the contest but were able to finish strong in the four, five and six matches.
James Demeo led the comeback effort by picking up the Yellow Jackets first victory in singles, defeating Earlham's Scott Lawrence in the four singles match. Demeo went on to win the first match 6-3, before Lawrence retired to give Demeo the victory. With the win, Demeo was able to remain perfect (7-0) in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play and moves his win streak to 8 games.
Defiance rounded out singles with wins from their five and six singles matches of Justin Walker and Tory Savage. Walker defeated Matthew Foster, winning both sets by a score of 6-3. The win improves Walker's conference record to 6-1.
Savage defeated Nathan Reinsma 6-1, 6-0 to round out singles and move his HCAC record to 5-1 on the year.
Defiance tennis will close out the regular season at home on Saturday, April 26 as the Yellow Jackets take on the Lions of Mount St. Joseph. The match is set for noon.