The Oberlin tennis teams hit the court on Saturday to take on the Allegheny College Gators in non-conference action. Both the men and the women came out with big wins, giving them needed momentum going into the end of season and the conference tournament.

The women proved to be too much for the Lady Gators as Oberlin tallied up their 14th win of the season and an impressive fourth shutout victory for the year, 9-0.

The combination of senior Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz and sophomore Ary Amerikaner started things off, taking on the top Allegheny duo of Judy Spencer and Laura Lehrian in a competitive first doubles match. The Oberlin squad went on to take the point, 8-6.

Second doubles put the combo of junior Whitney Reichheld and sophomore Jessica Hauser on the court against the Allegheny tandem of Julie Balsiole and Jen Schuh. In another tough match the Yeowomen pulled out the win, 8-5.

In third doubles senior Laura Koehn and first-year Kate Lurain teamed up to down the Lady Gator pair of Stephanie Pera and Eillen Gallagher, 8-5.

After these challenging doubles matches, the Yeowomen breezed through many of the singles contests.

In first singles, Amerikaner took the reigns at the top spot and defeated Spencer, 6-2, 0-6, 6-3. At second singles Hauser pulled out a tough victory over Lehrain, 7-5, 7-6(4).

Rechheild wrapped up third singles, 6-1, 6-2, while Koehn defeated Lady Gator Schuh by a score of 6-0, 6-3. Fifth singles saw sophomore Melanie Merz walk away with another solid victory, taking down Pera in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, while first-year Lesly Farber won over Gallagher at sixth singles, 6-3, 7-5.

With the NCAC tournament coming up, the Yeowomen will be looking to solidify their status as a powerhouse in the conference. Saturday’s win over Allegheny was just one step in the process.

While the women’s team won in a controlling manner, the men’s match was much more dramatic.

The 4-3 victory did not come easily, but with the win the team showed its ability to come together and pull out tough matches.

“The Allegheny match on Saturday was a good match for the team,” sophomore Brad White said. “This match truly showcased how far this team has come from last year when we lost to Allegheny 6-1.”

The drama began with the doubles matches as the top duo of junior Marian Bocek and sophomore Nick Ogren did not have enough for Allegheny’s combo of Gabe Higgs-Horwell and Chris Howell. They fell at first doubles, 8-1.

The Yeomen fought back at second doubles as sophomore Mark Knee and first-year Jimmy Rosenheim defeated Seth Wilmore and Bryan Lyssy, 8-3. But the point was lost as White and first-year David Cotter dropped a competitive match to Adrian Filip and Steve Lucas, 8-5.

“We dropped the doubles point,” White said. “But everyone came out strong in singles.”

Junior Jamie Frankel was solid against top Gator Higgs-Horwell but in a difficult match dropped the point 7-5, 6-7 (8), 6-3. In second singles, however, Bocek evened the score with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Howell.

“Marian played a great match destroying an opponent that beat him last year,” White said. “I cannot say enough about how much Marian has improved and meant to the team this year.”

Ogren was also at the top of his game as he downed Wilmore, 6-2, 6-4 at third singles, while Mark Knee had an impressive showing, winning over Filip, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.

“Mark played an outstanding match in a pressure situation,” Ogren said. “His match essentially transformed into a battle of wills late into the third set, and he toughed it out with some smart and gutsy play. Mark is the reason we won this match.”

In another tough match, Rosenheim fell to Lyssy, 6-4, 6-2 at fifth singles while Cotter pulled out a win over Jason Carlson, 6-3, 6-3.

For the Yeomen, the win over Allegheny meant a great deal.

“It puts us at a record of 11-10 going into the conference tournament,” White said,“This is the first time in many years that the team has gone into conferences above .500.”

The team will play Denison University in the first round of the playoffs.

“If we are able to beat Denison then we will be competing for one of the top four spots in the conference,” White said. “So far this season has been excellent, we have played with a lot of heart and won a lot of close matches. The improvement from last year is obvious.”

“If we beat Denison then the season will definitely be a success,” he added. “Finishing in the top four in the conference has been our highest aim the last two years.”