BEREA, OHIO — The fourth-seeded Baldwin-Wallace College men’s tennis team shut out Ohio Athletic Conference rival and fifth-seeded Capital University, 5-0, today (Tuesday, April 28, 2009) in an OAC Tournament quarterfinal match inside the Lou Higgins Recreation Center in Berea. The match was moved indoors due to inclement weather outside.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets improved 19-3 overall and advance to the OAC Final Four this Friday and Saturday, May 1-2 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio and play top-seeded Mount Union College, 17-4 overall, at 1:00 p.m. in one of two semifinal matches. With its loss, Capital ends its season at 6-13 overall.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 3-0 lead after doubles play and never looked back as they also won two of two singles matches and leading in the third match when play was stopped. B-W gained wins from the number one duo of senior Jim Kucera (Mentor) and sophomore Matt Lachman (Cleveland Heights/ Lakewood St. Edward), the No.2 tandem of junior Andy Redd (Archbold) and senior Zach Long (Ashland/ Senior) and the No.3 duo of freshmen Alex Trzeciak (Avon Lake) and Taylor Long (Ashland/ Senior). In singles play, Lachman won at No.2 and Redd won at No.3. With their win at No.1 doubles, Kucera and Lachman are 12-7, Redd and Zach Long are 17-5 at No.2 doubles and Trzeciak and Taylor Long are 18-2 at No.3. With his win at No.2 singles, Lachman is now 13-5 and with his win at No.3 singles, Redd is 19-5.
In facing top-seed Mt. Union, who defeated eighth-seeded Heidelberg College by a score of 5-0 in quarterfinal action, the Yellow Jackets play a team that it lost to 5-4 earlier this season in Berea in a match that was tied 4-4. B-W had a 5-3 lead and match point at fifth singles but was not able to put the match away. The winner of the B-W versus Mt. Union match will play the winner of No.2-seed Ohio Northern University and No.3-seed John Carroll University in Saturday’s OAC Championship match at 10:00 a.m. For more information on the OAC Men’s Tennis Tournament, please log onto the tourney Web site at www.oac.org/MENtennisTournament.shtml.
In addition to seeking a win versus Mt. Union, 21st-year Head Coach Brian Rector and his Yellow Jackets will be looking to advance to the OAC Championship match for the fifth time in the last six years. A win also would be B-W’s 20th victory this season and mark the sixth 20-win season in the last seven years for Rector’s program. Entering the Mt. Union match, Rector’s teams have posted an impressive 144-20 mark during the last seven years.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at (440) 826-2327 and via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Nick Minerd by phone at (440) 826-2780 and via e-mail at nminerd@bw.edu. To contact Head Coach Brian Rector, please call him at (440) 826-5931 or e-mail him at brector@bw.edu. The athletics FAX can be reached at (440) 826-2192. More information on tennis may be accessed on the B-W athletics page at www.bw.edu/athletics.
Final College Men’s Tennis Aggate Results
2009 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal
Baldwin-Wallace College versus Capital University
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 in Berea, Ohio
Final Score: Baldwin-Wallace -- 5, Capital -- 0
SINGLES MATCHES:
No. 1: Kucera (B-W) versus Hoff (CU), no result; No. 2: Lachman (B-W) def. Filas (CU), 6-1, 6-1; No. 3: Redd (B-W) def. Albert (CU), 6-2, 6-2; No. 4: Trzeciak (B-W) versus Long (CU), no result; No. 5: Burris (B-W) versus Wathen (CU), no result; No. 6: Irwin (B-W) versus Ziders (CU), no result.
DOUBLES MATCHES:
No. 1: Kucera-Lachman (B-W) def. Hoff-Filas (CU), 8-3; No. 2: Redd-Z. Long (B-W) def. Albert-Wathen (CU), 8-4; No. 3: Trzeciak-T. Long (B-W) def. Long-Ziders (CU), 8-3.
NOTE: In the OAC Tournament, the first team to score five points is declared the winner. Due to the match being played indoors and only three courts being available for singles play, a draw was held to decide which matches would be played first.
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