Zach Beachler, Ada HS standout tennis player, continues winning as a member of the ONU men's tennnis team.
The team posted an 8-1 victory over Ohio Athletic Conference rival Baldwin Wallace Wednesday evening at Pop Collins Court in Berea, running its current win streak to three consecutive matches.
With the win, the Polar Bears improve to 8-6 overall and 2-0 in conference action this season. Meanwhile, BW falls to 11-3 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.
Junior Connor Christian (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy), sophomore Hoang Do (Powell/Olentangy Liberty), and freshmen Andrew Cochran (Wooster) and Zach Beaschler (Ada) were each double-winners for ONU in Wednesday's match.
In doubles action, Do and Beaschler teamed up for an 8-2 victory in the No. 2 slot while Cochran and Christian upended Michael Benotti and Edwin Schartman 8-1 on the No. 3 court to give Ohio Northern a 2-1 lead.
BW claimed their lone victory in the midweek showdown with an 8-2 triumph at No. 1 doubles.
From there, the Polar Bears swept all six singles matches to preserve the final 8-1 scoreline.
In singles action, sophomore Vinh Thai (Galloway/St. Charles) led the Ohio Northern efforts, knocking off 2018 OAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year Dominic Polifrone 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in the No. 1 singles slot.
Meanwhile, freshman Noah Elliott (Hilliard/Davidson) won his team-best 14th singles match 6-3, 6-4 on the No. 2 court; Do claimed a 6-4, 6-2 decision at No. 3 singles; Beaschler battled to a 7-6 (10-8), 6-2 triumph at No. 4 singles; Cochran captured a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at No. 5; and Christian rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the No. 6 position.
Ohio Northern will return to action Saturday, April 13 at the OAC Tennis Fest in Mason, Ohio. The Polar Bears will face off against Muskingum at 9 a.m. and Marietta at 11 a.m.
Women's tennis
The Ohio Northern women's tennis program swept all six singles matches and had four players win two matches each Wednesday afternoon, guiding the Polar Bears to an 8-1 victory over Ohio Athletic Conference foe Baldwin Wallace at the University Tennis Courts in Ada.
With the victory, ONU improves to 13-4 overall this season and remains undefeated in OAC action with a 3-0 league mark. The Yellow Jackets drop to 1-11 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Four players were double winners in the midweek showdown, including senior Ashley Ochsenhirt (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian), juniors Mackenzie Wills (Ada) and Katie Curry (Oxford/Talawanda), and freshman Abigail Staskiewicz (Mars, Pa./Oakland Catholic).
In doubles action, Northern claimed two of three contested matches for an early 2-1 advantage. Ochsenhirt and Wills claimed an 8-3 decision in the No. 2 slot while Curry and Staskiewicz won with a similar 8-3 scoreline on the No. 3 court.
Meanwhile, Baldwin Wallace picked up their lone match victory in the No. 1 doubles slot with an 8-4 decision for Imani and Jayde Robinson.
The Polar Bears went on to sweep all six singles courts to secure their 13th win in the 2018-19 campaign.
Curry led the individual efforts with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at No. 4 singles.
In addition, Ochsenhirt won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 at the No. 1 slot; Wills claimed a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 5 singles; and Staskiewicz won 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 6 position to become double-winners in Wednesday's match.
Junior Kaleigh Cummins (Springfield/Northeastern) and freshman Olivia Schrager rounded out the Polar Bear victories with 6-3, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-3 triumphs at the No. 2 and 3 singles spots, respectively.
The Polar Bears will return to action this weekend at the OAC Tennis Fest in Mason, Ohio. Ohio Northern will face off against Franciscan Friday evening and battle Muskingum, Marietta, and Earlham (Ind.) on Saturday.
