WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Playing at neutral-site courts, the No. 26-ranked Kenyon College men’s tennis team had its hands full Sunday, going up against No. 5-ranked University of Chicago. The Maroons raced to a 3-0 start in doubles and finished off the Owls in singles, claiming an 8-1 victory.
Chicago posted an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles and then an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles, before the No. 1 match needed a tiebreaker to be decided. Kenyon’s top pairing of sophomore Paulo Pocasangre Kreling and first-year Gianluca Bocanegra pushed Chicago’s No. 1 team to the edge, but ended up falling to Andrei Leonov and Pat Otero by an 8-7 (8-6) count.
Trying to make up ground in a singles play, Kenyon only fell further behind. Chicago handled the No. 4, 5, and 6 matches in straight sets. At No. 1, Pocasangre Kreling put up another good fight, but dropped a 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) decision to Derek Hsieh.
Kenyon’s lone point in the competition came from junior Rishil Kondapaneni. He played against John Walentowicz in the No. 3 singles match and came away with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
The team loss moved the Owls’ season record to 5-5, with all five losses to nationally-ranked teams. The win boosted the Maroons to 12-1.
