Season Preview: Young Men’s Tennis roster hopes to challenge for conference crown 

By Bud Denega 

| 2019-20 Schedule |

ADA — A very young Ohio Northern Men's Tennis roster exceeded expectations in 2018-19. That youthfulness is a year older, which raises the expectations and goals the Polar Bears have for the 2019-20 season. 

"We had a great season last year, with so many young guys on the roster, and those returners all have at least a year's worth of experience under their belts. It's going to be fun to see how they continue to develop." fourth-year head coach Mike Bonnell said. "We were a third set away from winning the OAC tournament title. Those are the positions we want to be in and the guys are excited to see how we stack up this year."

Northern finished third in the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season last year, going 14-9 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The Polar Bears advanced to the OAC title match for the first time since 2012-13 season before falling to John Carroll 5-4. 

Only one piece doesn't return from that squad that came one match shy of going to the NCAA Tournament. Add in the fact that a large contingent of 8 freshmen come into the fray and ONU is excited to get the season underway. 

"The benefit of having a young team is that we all can put your stamp on what this team is going to evolve into," Bonnell said. "Our core group is very strong and now we get to add more valuable pieces."

Junior Vinh Thai (Galloway/St. Charles) tops the lineup as the No. 1 singles player. He was voted OAC Player of the Year in 2018-19. He was a first-team All-OAC selection after compiling a singles record of 17-4 and a doubles record of 14-10. 

Sophomore Noah Elliott (Hilliard/Davidson) piled up the most wins on the team. He registered a 21-5 record at No. 2 singles and added a 16-8 mark in doubles play. His efforts also earned him first-team All-OAC honors. 

Sophomore Zach Beaschler (Ada) held a 13-11 record, primarily playing at No. 3 singles and a 16-7 record in doubles. He was named honorable mention All-OAC.

Junior Hoang Do (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) garnered second-team All-OAC distinction after logging a singles record of 10-10 and a doubles mark of 17-5. 

Sophomore Andrew Cochran (Wooster) played predominantly in the 5th spot and posted a 17-9 overall singles record. While playing mostly 3rd doubles, he went 12-9.

Sophomore Nate Meadors (Dublin/Jerome) played throughout the lineup and was 4-3 in singles play while going 8-7 in doubles.

Sophomore Joji Imatomi (Yokohama, Japan/Kamakura Gakuen) went undefeated in singles, and doubles, going 6-0 in the former and 3-0 in the latter. 

Sophomore Joshua McClure (Mount Vernon) rounded out the squad with a perfect 3-0 singles record.

The Polar Bears kick off the 2019-20 campaign at the Oberlin Invitational Saturday and Sunday.