Men's Tennis advances to OAC Tournament Championship with 5-1 win over Mount Union

May 3, 2013

By: Andrew Korba

MASON -- For the eighth straight season, the Ohio Northern men's tennis team will play for the OAC Tournament Championship as the Polar Bears topped No. 4-seed Mount Union 5-1 on Friday afternoon at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason in the OAC Tourament Semifinals.

ONU now stands at 17-4 on the season, while the Purple Raiders finish 2013 at 15-6.

The Polar Bears will now play No. 3-seed Otterbein on Saturday at 10 am, with the winner receiving an at large bid to the NCAA III Championships.

Northern got jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles play.

Freshman John Mostowy and junior Josh Saunders cruised to an 8-1 victory at No. 2 doubles.

After the Purple Raiders won at No. 3 doubles, senior Joey Frank and junior Do Thai picked up a 8-4 at No. 1 doubles.

"The tournament is the start of a new season," said head coach Bob Rohan. "The tournament always has a different feel. It's the start of something new and everything means a whole lot more."

In singles play, Frank won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to make it 3-1 in favor of ONU.

Junior Blake Troller put Northern up 4-1 with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles and Thai clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.

"Everybody keeps on playing and getting better," Rohan added. "I thought we did a good job of withstanding the pressure that they (Mount Union) put on us at the beginning. We were able to fend off the runs on each court."