Ben Blotner
Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster tennis team opened its spring slate with matches against two different opponents on Saturday, starting in Findlay, Oh. and ending their day in Lexington, Oh. The Fighting Scots lost 7-2 to the University of Findlay, but bounced back with an easy 8-1 victory over Heidelberg University.
Jack Buchan ’17 was the only Scot to win his singles match against Findlay, defeating Carlos Blanco ’19 in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Ivaylo Slavov ’20 and Brad Strawser ’18 each won in straight sets for the Oilers. Slavov defeated Wooster’s Nathan Devereux ’20, 6-4, 6-0, while Strawser bested Andrew Long ’18, 6-0, 6-2.
Despite these sweeps and the 7-2 final score, the teams were relatively even during matches. Findlay’s Oriol Ferrer ’18, Nicholas Kopylec ’19 and Trevor Majdalani ’19 all required tiebreaker sets to earn their victories. Ferrer won a tense tiebreaker game over Wooster’s Titas Bera ’18 by a score of 11-9, completing a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 victory. Kopylec beat Davis Elkins ’17, 6-1, 2-6, 1-0, winning the tiebreaker 10-3. Majdalani took down Jesse DeWitt ’19, 6-3, 1-6, 1-0, thanks to a 10-4 triumph in the tiebreaker.
After winning five of six singles matches, the Oilers also took two of three doubles contests. Ferrer and Blanco beat Buchan and Elkins, 8-5, while Strawser and Majdalani defeated Devereux and Long, 8-3. The only Wooster win was Bera and DeWitt’s dramatic 9-8 victory over Kopylec and Slavov. This victory may have given the team the momentum it needed.
The Fighting Scots fared much better in their second matchup against Heidelberg, nearly shutting out the Student Princes. Five of six Wooster players won their singles matchups in straight sets. Buchan took down Benjamin Moore ’17 6-4, 6-2, while DeWitt defeated Tyler Flickinger ‘17 6-1, 6-2. Devereux did not allow Dan Driscoll ’17 to win a game as he prevailed 6-0, 6-0, and Long nearly did the same to Paul Claymier ’18, 6-0, 6-1. Jae Lee ’20 dominated Alex Sprague ’19, 6-1, 6-0. Tate Schoen ’20 earned Heidelberg’s only victory, as he defeated Craig Deng ’20, 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles action saw the pattern of Wooster dominance continue. Buchan and Elkins won 8-3 over Moore and Flickinger. Long and Devereux were 8-1 victors over Driscoll and Claymier; Lee and Deng came out on top 8-2 against Schoen and Sprague. It was a scintillating performance all around for the Fighting Scots, as all players contributed to the victory.
After the split to start the spring season, Wooster will be back in action on Feb. 11 against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and on Feb. 12 against Elmhurst College. The Fighting Scots will travel to Janesville, Wis. to compete.
The Scots are currently 1-2 on the season, with their other loss coming against Walsh University.