Men's tennis streak at eight

Junior Sam Steckley returns to competition

The Oberlin men's tennis team extended its losing streak to eight games with a loss this Saturday to Kenyon College, the number two ranked team in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

Oberlin lost to Kenyon 7-0, putting its season record at 2-12. Through the streak the team is keeping their spirits high and hoping their improvement combined with some upcoming weaker competition will give them some more wins.

"My team always gives 100 percent on the court," Tennis Coach Chris Barker said. "We are looking forward to the rest of the season so that we can prove we are a much better team than our 2-12 record indicates."

Kenyon's ranking was scary for some team members. "It's hard not to be intimidated by a team like Kenyon," sophomore Wes Clapp said.

Although they lost every match they played, first-year Jed Greenberg, who plays number 2 singles came very close in his match, extending his opponent to three sets before failing: 6-2, 7-6, 8-6.

"Jed Greenberg played a great second set at number two singles," said Barker.

Other members of the team commented that even though they weren't winning, they were improving.

"In the Kenyon match, I was hitting the ball in the court and aggressively," sophomore Jon Stinson said. "I was still missing shots, but they were good misses in that I had the right idea and just couldn't make the final shot, as opposed to the week before when I discarded any sort of strategy and just tapped the ball back hoping it would land somewhere in the court."

Making his return to the court is junior Sam Steckley. Barker said, "We are also very happy to have captain Sam Steckley back in the lineup. His shoulder injury has healed enough that he can play again, which he will do this Saturday."

This Saturday the team hosts two home conference matches: one at 9 a.m. against Allegheny College and 4 p.m. against Wittenberg University.