Scots Return From South Carolina with Four More Wins

After winning four of five matches played in Hilton Head, S.C., this past week, The College of Wooster men's tennis team is off to its best start (7-1) since 1999, when it won 12 of its first 13 matches. The Scots won each of its first four matches (two additional contests were rained out), before dropping its final match to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) 7-0 on Wednesday, March 23.

On March 17, Wooster won four of six singles matches against St. Lawrence University before rain ended the match prematurely. Freshman Grant D'Augustine easily overcame his opponent at No. 4 singles 6-4, 6-0, as did fellow classmate Dave Albrechta at the No. 6 spot (6-1, 6-0). With rain threatening, senior Nikhil Gonsalves and sophomore Brian Ebbitts were both forced into super tiebreakers to decide their matches at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Both Scots came through with wins in their third sets, with Gonsalves winning 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 and Ebbitts ousting his opponent 3-6, 6-2, 10-7.

Despite losing at No. 1 singles, Wooster won the rest of its singles matches and two of three doubles contests to defeat Hobart College 6-1 on March 18. Alec Garnett and D'Augustine both bounced back from first set losses to win at No. 2 (5-7, 6-1, 6-4) and No. 3 singles (5-7, 6-0, 6-1), respectively, while Gonsalves at No. 4, Ebbitts at No. 5, and Ted Hickey at No. 6 each won in straight sets.

The Scots ran their record to 6-0 on March 19 with a 6-1 victory over the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. After dropping the first set, sophomore Will Morrison battled back at No. 4 singles to win a highly competitive match 6-7 (5), 7-5, 14-12. Garnett and D'Augustine each posted wins over their opponents at No. 2 (7-5, 6-2) and No. 3 singles (6-3, 6-2), while Ebbitts needed a tiebreaker in his first set at No. 5 to win his match 7-6 (7), 6-4. Hickey also posted a straight set victory at No. 6 singles (7-5, 6-1).

Grove City College posted a win at No. 1 singles on March 23 , but Wooster bounced back to win four of the five remaining singles matches and all three of the doubles matches to win the contest 5-2. Morrison and Gonsalves each won in straight sets at No. 2 (6-2, 6-1) and No. 3 singles (6-4, 6-4), respectively, while junior Tim Wyatt posted a win at No. 5 (6-2, 6-1) in his first action of the year. Freshman Andrew Garnett also managed a straight-set victory in his first collegiate match, winning at No. 6 singles 6-2, 6-2.

Next up for the Scots will be the second home match of the year against Case Western Reserve University on Thursday, March 31, at 3:30 p.m.