The men’s tennis team earned a strong 2–7 victory on the road against conference foe Ohio Wesleyan University last Saturday morning. The win extended Oberlin’s winning streak to three games and gave the Yeomen a great deal of confidence heading into a string of three consecutive games on their home court.

Jumping out to an early lead in doubles play has been a primary focus for the team under Coach Eric Ishida. The Yeomen were able to do just that inside the Gordon Field House, taking all three doubles matches. Senior Eliot Heaton and first-year Eli Rogatz sealed a shut- out of Ohio Wesleyan in doubles play with a 2–8 win over their opponents in the third and final doubles match.

The Yeomen got off to a tough start in singles play, as junior Charlie Marks quickly lost his first set 1–6 and fell behind 1–4 in the next set. But in a quick turnaround, Marks rallied to win the second set 6–4 and took the final set 7–6 (11–9) to keep the momentum going for Oberlin.

“His back was up against the wall, and he came out swinging,” said Ishida, who helped Marks with the necessary adjustment to make the comeback.

“Charlie was really frustrated, but Coach told him to beat his opponent at his own game, and that’s just what he did,” sophomore Daniel Bloch said. Later victories in singles play from first-years Callan Louis and Brandon McKenna and sophomore Soren Zeliger sealed a victory for the Yeomen.

The match was Oberlin’s first one on the road this season, but even adverse conditions could not stop the fast-improving team. The Yeomen left Oberlin before 6 a.m. and found that the Ohio Wesleyan courts were drastically different from their own. “They have darker courts and a different lighting system than we have here,” Coach Ishida said. This didn’t seem to faze the Yeomen at all, though.

“I felt that as a team we were louder than the other team and their spectators, even being on the road,” said Bloch. “That’s something we’ve been working on this year.” Ishida credits Marks and senior Ben Turchin for taking on leadership roles with a young team and helping to create this loud and supportive atmosphere.

Despite the three-game winning streak, the team members refuse to let success get to their heads. “We’re taking it match by match and day by day, and we’re getting better all the time,” said Bloch, while Ishida

Lilly Day added that the team must simply continue to take care of their “side of the net”.

The Yeomen will look to extend their winning streak to four and protect their home court against the University of Mount Union Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Heisman Field House.