Goshen, IN — Saturday’s Goshen College Invitational may have been halted by rain, but the weather was no such problem for Tuesday afternoon’s Mid-Central Conference match-up with Grace College.
That was not good news for the Lancers.
Under beautifully sunny skies, Goshen (1-2, 1-1) cruised to a 9-0 defeat of its MCC rivals, winning all singles matches in straight sets and allowing Grace a combined total of eight games in the three doubles events.
The win was the first of the season for the Leafs, and helped to remove some sting from the team’s 3-6, MCC-opening loss to Taylor University on Sept. 4 (click here for related article).
“It’s nice to get a win, and an MCC win at that,” said Stan King, Goshen head coach. “I was glad to see the way our guys took charge in most matches, establishing their games in spite of somewhat windy conditions.”
Freshman Alex Dominguez led the team’s domineering push, teaming with sophomore Joel King for an 8-1 win in the number two doubles flight while knocking off Grace’s Adam Bedwell 6-1, 6-1 at the number three singles slot. Dominguez’s tally of total losses (three games) was the lowest for Goshen on the afternoon by six games — junior Shelden Good dropped seven games in his wins at number three doubles and number five singles.
“Alex was especially dominating at both number two doubles and number three singles with a strong serve and ground strokes,” Stan King said. “He has been fighting off some physical ailments for most of the season, but appears now to be pretty much free of those concerns.”
Good handed Grace’s Parker Snowden a 6-1, 6-2 loss at number five singles after teaming with senior Ashe Abebe for an 8-4 win at the third doubles event over Snowden and the Lancers’ Scott Wilder.
“It was great to see Sheldon and Ashe continue to play well as a team at number three doubles,” Stan King said.
Senior Beakal Girma was the only Goshen player to get anything close to a scare, taking Grace’s Brandon Conley by a 7-6(4), 6-4 score at number one doubles. Freshman Chanuk Algama needed a 6-4, 7-5 score at number six singles to dispatch Grace’s Scott Abshagen.
The Leafs were scheduled for a quick-turnaround, as Defiance College was poised to visit the Goshen College Tennis Complex Thursday afternoon. An administrative problem postponed that match until Sept. 20, however, putting Goshen back on the MCC trail for its next event. The Leafs will visit arch-rival Bethel College on Saturday for their next match. Event time is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Singles:
#1 Beakal Girma (Go) def Brandon Conley 7-6(4), 6-4
#2 Sashi Sabanathan (Go) def Jason Sells 6-3, 6-3
#3 Alex Dominguez (Go) def Adam Bedwell 6-1, 6-1
#4 Joel King (Go) def Scott Wilder 6-4, 6-3
#5 Sheldon Good (Go) def Parker Snowden 6-1, 6-2
#6 Chanuk Algama (Go) def Scott Abshagen 6-4, 7-5
Doubles:
#1 Girma/Sabanathan (Go) def Conley/Sells 8-3
#2 Dominguez/King (Go) def Bedwell/Wilder 8-1
#3 Good/Abebe (Go) def Snowden/Sloop 8-4
Exhibition match:
match suspended - Scott Abshagen leading Ben Toews 6-5
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Freshman Alex Dominguez