Oberlin Tennis Takes Two From Albion College
BY IAN HAYNES

The Oberlin men and women’s tennis teams started their season on the right foot at home last weekend, with the men defeating John Carroll University on Saturday and combining with the women to sweep Albion College on Sunday.
Senior Ben Fox cruised to an easy win against John Carroll playing first singles for the Yeomen. He defeated Scott Meyer in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3.
Playing second singles was senior Mike Shelton, who picked up the win defeating Jeremy Sobeck 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Sophomore Jason Criscione took his opponent, Alex Oswiesinski, three sets before losing, 3-6, 6-4, 0-6.
The Yeomen picked up their third and fourth points of the match when first-year Marian Bocek and sophomore Ashvin Raj swept their opponents in straight sets. Bocek won 6-2, 6-2 and Raj won 6-4, 6-4.
Playing sixth singles for Oberlin was sophomore Matt Fairbanks. Fairbanks lost in straight sets to Colin Braun, 1-6, 3-6, making the score 4-2 going into doubles.
In doubles competition a team must win two of three matches to get a point. Oberlin sailed to victory in all three matchups for the point. Fox and first-year Jamie Frankel won first doubles 8-5, helping Oberlin get half-way to their fifth point with two matches to go. Oberlin also took second and third doubles, with Shelton and Criscione winning 8-4 and Raj and Bocek winning 9-7 for the point.

“I was pleased with the way we played against John Carroll. They were a team that beat us twice last year and to come out and win 5-2 shows the improvement of this program,” Assistant Coach Adam Shoemaker said.
On Sunday, Albion College made the trip south from Michigan to take on the Yeomen and Yeowomen at home.
The competition opened with doubles and both teams vying for the first point. Fox and Frankel again teamed up for first doubles, taking the win 8-5. In second doubles, Shelton and Criscione fell to Albion 8-4 and in third double Bocek and Raj, teamed up for the win and the first point of the match, winning 8-4.
For the men, Frankel, who only played doubles on Saturday stepped into the number one singles spot and won in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

“[Frankel] played doubles only on Saturday because of an ankle sprain. We wanted to see how his ankle would react to the pressure and it reacted fine so he played on Sunday,” Shoemaker said.
Co-captains Fox and Shelton both made easy work of their opponents, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1, 7-6 (5), respectively. This gave the men’s team their third and fourth points and their second win of the season.

Bocek and Raj both battled in their matched losing in three sets. After losing the first set 6-3, Bocek battled back in the second set winning 4-6 before losing the third 7-6 (4). Raj easily took the first set in his match 1-6, but lost the next two 6-4, 6-2.
Fairbanks rounded out the singles competition, easily defeating his opponent 6-1, 6-1 in straight sets.

The women had their first match on Sunday against Earlham. Coming off a solid season last year when they finished third at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and fifth in the Great Lakes Championships, the Yeowomen looked to carry last years success into this season.
Junior Sarah Jesse, ranked second in the region, made quick work of her opponent winning 6-0, 6-0.
“[Jesse] is like a surgeon on the tennis courts,” Head Coach Don Hunsinger said, “She dissects her opponents. It’s thrilling to watch her play.”
Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz, a sophomore, won second singles in three sets 7-5, 6-7 (5-7 tiebreak), 6-4.
Senior Beth Krupski took the first set from her opponent in three singles 6-4 but lost in back to back sets 6-4, 6-1. The same happened to first-year Becka Buurma, who won 6-4 then lost the next two sets 6-4.
Sophomores Laura Koehn and Leah Corn rounded out the singles competition in the fifth and sixth slots. Both took the victory, though Koehn lost the first set 7-6 (7-5) before she fought back to win the next two 6-3, 6-2. 

“[Koehn] played great. She played like we have known she can play for a year and a half. This win was definitely a confidence booster for her,” Hunsinger said. Corn won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. 
In doubles, unlike the men, the women get a point for every match won; therefore they play to nine points rather than seven.
The first doubles team of Jesse and Fotiu-Wojtowicz gave Oberlin the fifth point and the win when they defeated Albion’s first doubles team 9-8. The final score of the match was in favor of Oberlin, 5-4. Albion took the next two matches 8-4.
The women and men will both take on Malone College tomorrow at home. The women begin at 10 a.m. and the men begin at 1 p.m.