Ohio Northern's men and women's tennis team cruised to victories this past week. Here's the recap:
Men's tennis
The third-seeded Ohio Northern men's tennis team cruised to a 5-0 victory over sixth-seeded Marietta in the OAC Tournament Quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon inside the Westwood Tennis Center in Lima.
With the victory, the Polar Bears improve to 13-8 overall this season. Meanwhile, the Pioneers conclude their season with a 7-12 overall mark.
Ohio Northern will move on to the OAC Tournament Semifinals for the second consecutive season.
Junior Connor Christian (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) and freshman Andrew Cochran (Wooster) were each double-winners in Tuesday's victory.
The duo claimed an 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles to open the match, putting Ohio Northern up 1-0 early. Later, Cochran won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles before Christian clinched the match with a similar scoreline at No. 5 singles.
In doubles play, reigning OAC Player of the Week Vinh Thai (Galloway/St. Charles) and freshman Noah Elliott (Hilliard/Davidson) captured an 8-3 victory in the No. 1 slot while sophomore Hoang Do (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) and freshman Zach Beaschler (Ada) won 8-2 on the No. 2 court to complete the sweep.
The third-seeded Polar Bears will now take on second-seeded Otterbein in the OAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday afternoon. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. The winner will advance to the OAC Tournament Finals, which will be contested Saturday at 10 a.m.
Women's tennis
The Ohio Northern women's tennis team advanced in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament with a quick 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Capital on Wednesday indoors at the Westwood Tennis & Fitness Center.
The third-seeded Polar Bears (19-6 overall) needed just 48 minutes to down the sixth-seeded Crusaders (7-11), who only had five healthy players make the trip.
Northern won by forfeit at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles to start the match ahead 2-0.
ONU swept the doubles courts as senior senior Ashley Ochsenhirt (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian) and junior Mackenzie Wills (Ada) won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles and freshmen Olivia Schrager (Dayton/Miami Valley) and Abigail Staskiewicz (Mars, Pa./Oakland Catholic) won 8-2 at No. 1 doubles to put Northern ahead 4-0.
Junior Katie Curry (Oxford/Talawanda) then won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles to complete the match.
The two teams agreed to play the match to its finish and ONU won the other four courts by 6-0, 6-0 scores as Ochsenhirt, Schrager, Wills and Staskiewicz won as Nos. 1-4, respectively.
The Polar Bears will advance to the semifinals of the OAC Tournament and will face second-seeded Otterbein on Friday at 4:30 pm at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason.
