OWU edges out OC tennis

Whoever said that Ohio was predictable and boring never played a spring sport at Oberlin.

Every student has by now realized that spring in Oberlin is a fickle tease. Deciding whether to wear a parka or a T-shirt is a common dilemma for college students. For the Oberlin men's tennis team, the havoc of spring storms has a larger impact than clothing choice. Dangerous storms have the Yeomen guessing until the last minute whether their match will be on, off, indoors, or out.

This year the team had to deal with the never ending winter and adjust to outdoor courts when the snow clears periodically. Now Ohio is in the middle of tornado and thunderstorm season.

Monday, the Yeomen were supposed to take on the College of Wooster. After being blanked by the team last weekend at the GLCA tournament, hosted by Wooster, Oberlin hoped to make up for its performance by coming out strong. Heavy rains and Wooster's lack of an indoor court kept the Yeomen from coming out at all. The match was postponed until next Monday.

The Yeomen have spent the rest of the week practicing. Head Coach Chris Barker said, "We've been working on a lot of repetition. We're trying to get back into a good groove of hitting so that we can be more aggressive and win the points, as opposed to trying to stay in the match."

Thursday the Yeomen had their first home match since March 2, hosting Ohio Wesleyan University. They lost the match 4-3. Team members were still able to put a positive twist on the loss. Senior Adam Shoemaker said, "We played pretty well. We picked up our game and got away from 7-0 losses. It's a step up for us. We have four major conference games left and then the NCAC tournament.

Professor of Economics Bob Piron, who is volunteering with the team, said after Thursday's game, "We're doing much better than we expected with all these freshmen. I think having a winning season is OK. Given the fact that rookies do what they're supposed to do, having an 8-6 season is terrific, just terrific."

Coach Barker said, "They're very smart players. They know what they're supposed to do. We've just got to get a little more consistent."

Saturday, men's tennis host both Allegheny and Wittenberg. This double header amounts to an entire day of ball-bouncing racquet-smacking excitement.

The Yeomen are on the road again Tuesday, traveling to Kenyon College.