It may sound counterintuitive, but the men’s tennis team is looking to carry the positive momentum from its 7–2 loss against Denison University last Saturday into some tough competition in the coming weeks.

Saturday’s loss marks the first time that senior Ben Turchin or junior Charlie Marks have avoided a shutout from Denison. The pair won its doubles match against Denison’s Grant Veltman and Shankar Rajupet 8–6, in a close yet crucial win against the No. 11-ranked team in the central region.

“Most years we’re shut out by Denison,” said Turchin. “Getting on the board was a big step up for us.” The doubles team of Turchin and Marks has been on a hot streak, winning 13 of their last 16 matches.

Callan Louis, a first-year and the team’s No. 1 singles player, took home Oberlin’s other win, defeating Denison’s Casey Cempre 6–2, 4–6 and 10–5.

Despite the wins, Oberlin took losses in the singles competition from Marks (6–4, 6–1), Turchin (6–4, 6–0), Soren Zeliger (6–3, 6–3), Eliot Heaton (6–2, 6–3) and Brandon McKenna (6–1, 6–0) and in the doubles competition suffered losses from Louis and Zeliger (8–4) and Eli Rogatz and Eliot Heaton (8–2).

“There were a lot of losses,” continued Turchin, “but they were close. People really stepped up and played well.”

Brandon McKenna referred to the team’s recent games as “the toughest stretch we’ve had to endure as a team.” However, he added that the team is looking to use that experience throughout the rest of the season and through the postseason.

The team also recently faced another formidable opponent, 30th nationally ranked and Central Region 7th-ranked University of Chicago. While the team did endure a 9–0 loss, it fought hard through several close matches and is looking to take the experience of playing against such competitive teams

with it through the North Coast Athletic Conference championships.

The Yeomen also endured a tough 0–9 loss to Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday when their match was moved to the indoor John W. Heisman fieldhouse. Zeliger played a close match against Case Western’s Derek Reinbold, losing 4–6 in the first set and 3–6 in the next. Doubles team Zeliger and Louis also played to a narrow 6–8 loss against the Case Western doubles team of Alex Solove and John Healey.

In the coming weeks, the Yeomen aren’t expecting the challenges to let up. They have the North Coast Athletic Conference Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Challenge tournament coming up this weekend at Hope College that the team is expecting to fare well in with matches against Calvin College, Hope College and Alma College. On Monday, the team will face off against Kenyon College (ranked second nationally) and Allegheny College the following Saturday. The match against Allegheny will be a must-win in order to secure a number four ranking for the NCAC playoffs to draw a winnable match and to move on to the next round of play.

The Allegheny match is coming up on Saturday, April 20, and both Turchin and Marks urged fans to come out and cheer the team on for their Senior Night game. “People should come out and see us,” said Marks. “It’s tennis, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit there and watch quietly.”