Men's Tennis rallies for thrilling 4-2 victory over Lake Forest (Ill.) in First Round of NCAA III Tournament

Men's Tennis rallies for thrilling 4-2 victory over Lake Forest (Ill.) in First Round of NCAA III Tournament
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May 8, 2026

CLEVELAND — The Ohio Northern men's tennis team rallied for a thrilling 4-2 victory over Lake Forest (Ill.) in the First Round of the NCAA III Tournament on Friday at Cleveland State's on-campus indoor facility.

| NCAA III Tournament Site |

The Basics

  • Records: Ohio Northern (14-8 Overall), Lake Forest (16-7 Overall).
  • Venue: Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion - Cleveland, Ohio.

Match Recap

  • Northern trailed 2-1, but posted three three-set victories at Nos. 6, 2 and 3 to post the victory and advance to the Second Round of the NCAA III Tournament for the sixth time in school history.
  • Sophomore Ethan Remy (Lexington) rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles to clinch the grueling match.
  • Junior Tyler Wood (Toledo/St. John's) gave ONU a 3-2 lead with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles.
  • Freshman Nick Miller (Toledo/St. Francis) tied the match at 2-all with his 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles.
  • Northern won the doubles point by taking courts 1 and 2.
  • Junior Tyler Wood (Toledo/St. John's) and freshman Dylan Catanese (Lexington) won 6-2 at No. 1 doubles.
  • After the Foresters won court 3, Remy and freshman Aiden Yeager (Springfield/Northwestern) won 6-4 at No. 2 doubles to put ONU ahead 1-0 heading into singles.
  • LFU won singles courts 4 and 5 to grab a 2-1 lead.

Notables

  • Lake Forest is ranked #42 in the latest ITA Division III national rankings. Ohio Northern is ranked #63.
  • The match was moved indoors due to rain and cold temperatures in the area.
  • The Polar Bears are making their fifth consecutive and 10th overall NCAA Tournament appearance.
  • Northern is now 6-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.
  • In tournament play, the matches are played to completion, where the match is stopped as soon as a team reaches four team points.
  • Lake Forest is making its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in program history.
  • ONU leads the series with LFU by a 2-0 margin.
  • ONU won its fifth consecutive OAC Regular Season and OAC Tournament titles this season.
  • Wood is 105-62 in his career.
  • Catanese leads the Polar Bears thus far this season with an 19-9 singles mark, an 18-9 doubles mark and a 37-18 overall record.
  • Yeager is second with 17 singles wins and 34 overall victories.
  • Wood also has 18 doubles wins.
  • Junior Kessler Hackenberger (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) is 14-11 in singles action, 13-10 in doubles play and is 27-21 overall.
  • He is 94-54 in his career and needs just six more wins to join the 100-Win Club.
  • Ohio Northern is in its 89th season of men's tennis and has a 747-375-5 record, a winning percentage of .665.
  • Fourth-year head coach Sean Swisher is 58-31 at the helm of the ONU men's tennis team, a winning percentage of .652.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears will return to action Saturday at 10 am in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament against host and No. 5-ranked Case Western Reserve.