Owls sweep Little Giants in season finale

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Playing for the final time in the 2022-23 regular season, the Kenyon College men’s tennis team ended their campaign with a 9-0 victory on the road over Wabash College. With the win, the Owls secured the No. 2 spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings headed into postseason play.

The victory was Kenyon’s seventh straight and ninth in the team’s last 11 duals. The No. 17-ranked team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings finished the season with an overall record of 12-9, including a 6-1 clip against NCAC competition. With the loss, Wabash College fell to 12-8 overall and 3-4 in the NCAC.

The Owls opened the matchup with a trio of doubles victories to set the tone early. Luis Andres Platas and Christophe Leblanc started the day with an 8-3 win in the No. 3 match. Kenyon’s No. 1 duo of Paulo Pocasangre Kreling and Eliezer Gonzalez followed up with an 8-2 win. The pairing of Thomas Kallarakal and Eric Zhang won the No. 2 bout 8-5 to complete the doubles sweep.

Kenyon also swept through singles, winning all six matches in straight sets. Each contest ended in order as the Owls went down the line one through six. Kallarakal won 6-1, 6-2 in the top spot before Platas clinched the dual with a 6-1, 6-4 decision at No. 2.

Rakkan Audeh’s No. 3 match was the closest of the day, but Audeh held on in set two to win 6-1, 7-5. Pocasangre Kreling (6-2, 6-3) kept Kenyon rolling at No. 4, while Zhang and Jacob Smith picked up a pair of 6-3, 6-3 victories in the Nos. 5 and 6 matches, respectively, to round out the Owls’ 9-0 sweep.

Kenyon’s next outing will be at the NCAC Championship. The quarterfinal round of the three-day, three-round tournament begins on Friday, April 28, when second-seeded Kenyon will take on the conference’s No. 7 seed. DePauw University will play host to the tournament in Greencastle, Indiana.