MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men's tennis team opened its Ohio Athletic Conference schedule Friday (March 24) afternoon with a 6-3 victory over rival Muskingum University. The win improves Marietta to 3-5 overall and 1-0 in the OAC. The Muskies fall to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in the OAC.
The match was played in conjunction with Marietta's Beren Invitational. The Pioneers are hosting seven other schools for the two-day tournament at the Beren Family Tennis Center.
Marietta jumped out to a 3-0 lead after sweeping the doubles matches. The Pioneers' top two tandems both posted convincing 8-0 wins.
Jack Hirschfield (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and
Shane Spencer (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion) downed Muskingum's Yozabro Igari and Micah Keith at No. 1, while
Bryce Emerick (Hyndman, Pa./HOPE for Hyndman Charter) and
Will Watson (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) beat Colin Keck and Caleb Patten at No. 2.
In the final doubles match, Marietta's
Brandon DeCicco (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg) and
Alex Hogan (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) edged Levi Hall and Markus Hofstetter at No. 3 by an 8-6 margin.
The Pioneers wasted no time wrapping up the team victory with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins at the top of the singles lineup. Spencer beat Patten at No. 1 and Hirschfield downed Keck at No. 2.
Emerick claimed Marietta's final point with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Igari at No. 3.
Muskingum won the bottom three singles matches. At No. 4, Keith beat Watson, 6-4 and 6-2. Hall posted a 6-0, 6-1 win over DeCicco at No. 5, while Hofstetter needed three sets to get past
Michael Doran (Granville, Ohio/Granville) at No. 6, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-3).
Marietta hosts the College of Mount St. Joseph, an 8-1 winner over Waynesburg in the first round, Saturday (March 25) morning at 10:30 a.m. in the winner's bracket of the Beren Invitational. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
