Goshen, IN — After dropping three heartbreaking Mid-Central Conference matches in its last three attempts, the Goshen College men’s tennis team got a needed league win Saturday, defeating Huntington University by a 6-3 score at the Goshen College Tennis Complex.
It had been a rough stretch for Goshen (2-5, 2-4), which lost two of its last three MCC match-ups by tear-jerking 5-4 scores. There was no such trauma Saturday morning, however, as the Leafs ran away with five out of the six singles positions to grab their second conference win of the season.
“It was a good feeling for us to finally win one after losing three straight as a team and having good chances for victory in all of them,” said Stan King, Goshen head coach. “We found ourselves down 2-1 after the completion of doubles, but we stormed back, winning all but one of the six singles matches. I’m hopeful that this team win will help propel us as we enter the home stretch of our season and begin thinking about the conference tournament in mid-October.”
King’s team was paced by the strong play of the bottom third of its lineup on Saturday, as senior Ashe Abebe and junior Sheldon Good got things going with an 8-3 win at number three doubles. After Goshen’s number one and number two doubles units failed to secure points, it was Abebe and Good’s efforts that kept things from getting out of hand heading into singles’ play.
“Good and Abebe’s 8-3 win at number three doubles was huge,” King said. “They played aggressively as a team, stayed on course throughout and kept the team from facing an 0-3 deficit going into singles. I was disappointed with our play at both one and two doubles. We looked slow and it looked like we really didn't have our heads in these two matches.”
The Leafs’ number two doubles team of sophomore Joel King and freshman Alex Dominguez suffered an 8-2 defeat to the Foresters, while Goshen’s top tandem of senior Beakal Girma and freshman Sashi Sabanathan dropped an 8-6 decision.
An explosive performance in singles play helped reverse Huntington’s 2-1 lead following doubles’ play, however, as only Sabanathan lost in one on one competiton. Perhaps ironic — Sabanathan has now lost only twice in singles’ play the entire season — Sabanathan dropped a marathon, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 decision to the Foresters’ Gonzalo Vivas.
The remainder of Stan King’s lineup more than made up for Sabanathan’s hiccup, as each remaining Goshen player took singles’ competitions in straight sets. Notable winners were Good at number five (6-3, 6-0) and Joel King at number four (6-4, 6-4).
“The bottom third of the lineup really came through for us today, and it was especially satisfying to have Sheldon Good get on the winning track with decisive singles and doubles matches,” Stan King said. “Equally as impressive was Joel King’s 6-4, 6-4 win at number four singles. That was a good personal achievement after loosing close, three-set matches against Goshen’s last three opponents.”
Freshman Chanuk Algama kept Huntington’s Keaton McDonald at bay in a 6-1, 6-4 win at the number six singles position, while Girma fought for a 7-5 win in the first set to cruise to a 6-3 decision in the second at the top singles’ flight.
“Alex Dominguez played smart tennis in winning his match rather handily, and with Beakal Girma’s win in straight sets at number one the team held a nice 4-2 lead. Chanuk Algama won a hard-fought second set to win his match at number six singles, and win the necessary fifth point to put this match in the victory column. Our only loss in singles was at number two, a position we can usually count on for a point from Sashi Sabanathan. But Huntington’s Gonzalo Vivas virtually coasted to 6-2, 6-1 set wins after losing a hard fought 6-4 first set.”
Saturday’s win helped erase some of the pain left by consecutive 5-4 conference defeats, as Goshen dropped one-point decisions to Indiana Wesleyan University on Sept. 18 (click here for related article) and Marian College on Sept. 22 (click here for article). The team will compete in its final regular-season conference match at Spring Arbor University on Tuesday. Match time is set for 4 p.m.
“If the team can continue to play good tennis at the lower positions, we have a good chance of taking the remaining matches on our schedule,” Stan King said. “It will require our best effort, though.”
Singles:
#1 Beakal Girma (G) def Tyler Moore 7-5, 6-3
#2 Gonzalo Vivas (H) def Sashi Sabanathan 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
#3 Alex Dominguez (G) def Mitchell McDonald 6-1, 6-1
#4 Joel King (G) def Adam Widener 6-4, 6-4
#5 Sheldon Good (G) def James Makula 6-3, 6-0
#6 Chanuk Algama (G) def Keaton McDonald 6-1, 6-4
Doubles:
#1 Moore/McDonald (H) def Girma/Sabanathan 8-6
#2 Vivas/Widener (H) def Dominguez/King 8-2
#3 Good/Abebe (G) def Makula/McDonald 8-3
Exhibition matches:
Matt Cable (H) def Jordan Kauffman 8-1
Matt Cable (H) def Ben Toes 8-2
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Junior Sheldon Good