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SEPT.
26 — Goshen Picks Up Second Straight League Win
Team
rolls past Foresters 6-3; first defeat of Huntington since
2003 |
Huntington, IN — The Goshen College men’s tennis team appears
to have caught fire at the right time this season, knocking off
Mid-Central Conference rival Huntington University Tuesday afternoon
by a 6-3 score.
The decision marked the third consecutive win for the squad and
second straight in MCC play, rebounding from a three-loss
skid in mid-September. Tuesday’s
win over Huntington was the first for the Goshen program since
2003, as the Leafs had won a total
three points against the Foresters over the last two seasons.
With just a few weeks left in the regular season, the signs are
looking positive for eighth-year head coach Stan King and his troops.
“It’s always good to get a conference win, and we were able to
win this one rather decisively,” King said following Tuesday’s
match. “I’m
happy at how well our guys are jelling as a team right now. We’re winning
and everyone is contributing.”
As has become the trend, it was Goshen’s doubles teams that started
Tuesday off on the right foot, as the Leafs claimed two of the three positions
for an early 2-1 lead in the overall match. Goshen suffered a surprising
8-4 loss at number two doubles — freshmen Joel King and Aaron Sutter
were 6-2 as partners prior to Tuesday’s event.
“Our number one doubles team of (junior) Beakal Girma and (sophomore)
Shyam Sabanathan put together some exciting points on their way
to a convincing 8-4 win, and our number three doubles pair, seniors J D Windhorst
and Tim
Yoder, had their ‘A game’ going again today to win 8-3.” Stan
King said. “Our number two doubles duo of Aaron Sutter and Joel King
couldn’t seem to get things going early in their match as they found
themselves down 0-5 and 2-7 before losing 4-8. They didn’t have their
best stuff working, but that has rarely been the case this season.”
Joel King was able to refute his doubles loss in a commanding,
6-3, 6-1 win at number three singles, while Sutter was not as fortunate in
a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Huntington’s Mitchell McDonald in the number two
singles slot. Still, Goshen (6-3, 2-3) found a way to take four of the six
singles positions, as Girma, King, Sabanathan and (sophomore) Sheldon Good
all claimed singles victories. Sabanathan’s win was the only Goshen
singles point not to come in straight sets, as Sabanathan knocked off the
Foresters’ Brian Lambright 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in number five singles play.
“I was pleased we were able to follow up our doubles play by winning
four of the six singles matches,” Stan King said. “Singles wins
by Beakal Girma, Sheldon Good, and Shyam Sabanathan were especially
noteworthy. Beakal Girma’s court speed and sharp play were too much
for Huntington’s
number one, Tyler Moore, as Girma won 6-3, 6-3, avenging a loss
to Moore last year. Sheldon Good played one of his best matches of the season
as he
drew on patience and steady play to win at number four singles,
6-4, 6-2, clinching the all important fifth point for the team win. And Shyam
Sabanathan,
after winning the first set 6-1, losing the second 3-6, was able
to come back and play great tennis through a hard-fought third set, winning
it 6-1,
and the match.”
Due to a cancellation and a weather postponement, Goshen will
next face off against MCC foe Spring Arbor University, a program
the Leafs have yet to defeat since it joined the conference in the fall of
2004. Goshen
will host the Cougars this Saturday. Match time is slated for
11 a.m.
UPDATE, 9/30/06: Due to pending inclement
weather, Saturday’s match with MCC rival Spring Arbor University was
postponed at the day’s outset. The match has been rescheduled for Thursday,
Oct. 5 with a yet to be determined start time. Goshen’s next match
will now take place Tuesday afternoon at the Goshen College Tennis Complex,
when the Leafs host MCC foe Taylor University. That match is set to begin
at 3 p.m.
Singles:
#1 Beakal Girma (G) def Tyler Moore 6-3, 6-3
#2 Mitchell McDonald (H) def Aaron Sutter 6-3, 6-2
#3 Joel King (G) def Daron Short 6-3, 6-1
#4 Sheldon Good (G) def Dustin Ecker 6-4, 6-2
#5 Shyam Sabanathan (G) def Brian Lambright 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
#6 Adam Widener (H) def J D Windhorst 6-4, 6-0
Doubles:
#1 Girma/Sabanathan (G) def Moore/Lambright
8-4
#2 McDonald/Short (H) def Sutter/King
8-4
#3 Windhorst/Yoder (G) def Ecker/Widener
8-3
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  Sophomore
Sheldon Good
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