Playing at a neutral site the No. 7 Ouachita Tigers got off to a quick start by sweeping the doubles against No. 30 Incarnate Word of San Antonio and taking a 3-0 lead.
Tiger Coach Craig Ward said, “Incarnate Word has a history of very talented players and good teams. With over 200 NCAA Division II tennis programs you know No. 30 is a good team. “
Ouachita’s No. 2 doubles team of Jean Charles Diame and Pierre Tafelski were the first get a point for the Tigers with an 8-2 decision. Followed quickly at No. 3 doubles by Vasek Stverka and Szymon Judek with an 8-3 win the Tigers improved to a 2-0 lead over the Cardinals.
The OBU No. 1 doubles team of Jan Plewinski and Till Heilshorn served for the match at 7-5 but the Cardinals broke back to get on serve at 7-6. However after exchanging serves the Tiger duo broke IW and took a 9-7 win to put Ouachita in a commanding 3-0 lead.
Ward said, “Because of our success I would imagine most teams’s feel they have little to lose and a lot to gain by beating us. That can be a dangerous combination but it is one we have gotten used to. Since all our matches start with an eight-game pro set for each doubles point it puts even more importance on a good start. As a result it takes good focus on each match to beat quality opponents and keep momentum on our side.
“JC and Pete were determined to have a good start today and played very focused at No. 2. At No. 3 doubles Szymon and Vasek have quietly gone about having a very good season by playing so well together. Jan and Till broke serve early and had little trouble maintaining their lead until 7-5. They may have lost a little focus while the other guys made a final stand and broke our serve to get back in the match. But then our guys showed why they are one of the top teams in the nation. They rallied in the next couple of games and closed out the match with the win 9-7.”
The final two points were taking at No. 6 singles by Texarkana native Daniel Moser, 6-2,6-1 and No. 3 Jean Charles “JC” Diame, 6-3,6-2. The Tigers claimed victory with a 5-0 decision and extended their overall record to 17-0. Both coaches agreed before the match to stop when one of the teams reached a match-deciding five points.
“Every team has a good No. 1 or No. 2 player. But great teams must have strong players at every position in the line-up. Daniel and JC really took care of business today and sealed the victory. Our depth will be one the key to our success as we go into our conference and NCAA championships. ”
Ouachita plays home team Cameron University on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
