Tigers Celebrate Senior Day With 5-4 Win Over Franciscan
Luke Minard and Kieren Thomas both pull out three-set singles wins to propel Wittenberg past AMCC champion.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers sent senior Dennis Gleason (Gahanna, Ohio/St. Charles) out on a high note with a thrilling 5-4 victory over Franciscan.
The come-from-behind team win was secured thanks to a pair of three-setter decisions in the singles competition that went to Tiger freshmen. Luke Minard (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) won at No. 2 singles with a 10-3 third-set tiebreaker, while Kieren Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) took the point at No. 6 by a 10-7 third-set tiebreaker.
The win snapped a five-match losing streak, all against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) competition. The Tigers improved to 7-14 overall on the 2015-16 season. Franciscan, which won the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament title two days earlier, fell to 10-9.
In doubles, Wittenberg fell behind 2-1 despite a dominating performance at Court 1 from freshman Matt Arroyo (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) and Minard. The singles rally started with Arroyo at Court 1, as he survived a first-set tiebreaker and cruised from there. Also winning for the Tigers was junior Sean Munson (Chicago, Ill./Roycemore) at No. 5.
Before the match, the Tigers honored Gleason, a four-year letterwinner for the Tigers.