Season Preview: Men's Tennis looks to challenge for OAC crown again in 2021
By Tim Glon
ADA — It has been nearly two years since the Ohio Northern men's tennis team came within one set of winning the Ohio Athletic Conference title.
In 2019, Northern fell to John Carroll 5-4 in the OAC Tournament finals in a match that went down to the final set.
ONU head coach Mike Bonnell thought his 2020 Polar Bear squad could make another run at the OAC crown, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut all that down last March.
So now that it is 2021, the goal remains the same for the Ohio Northern men's tennis team - to win the conference championship.
Bonnell welcomes back four starters and six lettermen from last year's squad that went 6-4, including a 6-2 record against NCAA Division III competition, before the season was canceled.
"Our goal remains the same each year - to win the OAC championship," Bonnell said. "We have a great group of men that have a great attitude and work ethic. We are building a team culture that will be the foundation of what we do. If we play with enthusiasm and have a good attitude we can be successful."
The Polar Bears are led by senior reigning OAC Player of the Year Vinh Thai (Galloway/Saint Charles)
Thai is a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree and was voted the top player in the league in 2019.
He is 35-22 all-time in singles and 35-25 all-time in doubles while only playing at the No. 1 spots. He is 70-37 in his career.
Senior Joji Imatomi (Yokohama, Japan/Kamakura Gakuen) also returns for his fourth season at ONU.
Imatomi is a perfect 15-0 in his career in a reserve role and appears ready to make a push for the starting lineup in 2021.
Junior Zach Beaschler (Ada) is back for his third season in the starting lineup after playing Nos. 3 and 4 singles and No. 2 doubles.
He was named Honorable Mention All-OAC as a freshman in 2019 and has a 44-27 career record.
Junior Andrew Cochran (Wooster) is 47-25 in his first two seasons at Ohio Northern and has started primarily at Nos. 4 and 5 singles and No. 3 doubles.
He was 18-7 overall last season.
Sophomore Matt Garcia (Downers Grove, Ill./South) came to ONU as a doubles specialist. He was a solid 9-6 as a freshman in 2020 playing primarily at No. 1.
He is looking to get into the singles lineup as well in 2021.
Sophomore Maxim Smith (Medina) did not play on the spring break trip in 2020 and will challenge for a starting spot after lettering last year.
Five newcomers, junior David Guindi (Cairo, Egypt/College De La Sainte Famille) and freshmen Tyler Christoff (Elida), Kavya Desai (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Jacob Ramirez (Lima/Elida) and Isaac Spar (Ada) will also battle for starting spots this spring.
"We start our lineup with the OAC Player of the Year, which is a nice luxury to have," Bonnell said. "Joji plays with a passion. It is good to see a kid work hard and see success. Zach and Andrew are two leaders on our team that have developed their games. Matt was a doubles specialist that has worked very hard on his singles game. Maxim has come a long way with his game and we look forward to his development. Our five newcomers bring a great attitude and work ethic and will make us much stronger."
The Polar Bears will begin their 2021 season on March 27 at Marietta.