Franciscan 0, Otterbein 7

Wheeling, W.Va. - The Barons kicked off the spring semester with an indoor match on Valentine's Day just down the Ohio River in Wheeling. The Barons took on the Cardinal of Otterbein, one of the best teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) for the first time since the 2022-23 season when they played at this same location. The Cardinals got the better of the Barons tonight, but several good matches were played.

Doubles
     Jeremiah Greve and Michael Nolan fell 6-0 at #3 doubles, but the other two matches were very closely contested. At #1 doubles, Aidan Palladino and David Bourdelais had the upper hand in the early going. They led by two on two different occasions, but Otterbein stormed back to tie it at 6-6. In the tiebreaker, the Cardinals controlled it most of the way, but the Barons battled back late to drop it 7-6. At #2 doubles, Aaron Heinlein and Christopher Yvars were also in a back-and-forth thriller. Each team was winning their serves, but then the Barons broke the Cardinals' serve to hold a 5-4 edge. They were not able to close them out, as they forced a tiebreaker and won the match to win all three doubles matches and take a 1-0 lead.

Singles
    The same six Barons that played doubles appeared in singles play. Aidan Palladino played at the #1 spot for the first time in his five-year collegiate career. He dropped a hard-fought match in straight sets. His doubles partner, David Bourdelais, faired the same at the #3 spot. Christopher Yvars battled at #3 singles but fell by a score of 6-2, 6-3. Aaron Heinlein dropped his opening set at #2 singles, 6-1, but he had the lead in the second set and battled before dropping 6-4. Michael Nolan in his first collegiate dual match, played #5 singles. He dropped in straight sets to a talented Cardinal. Last off the court was Jeremiah Greve and the #6 singles match. He fell in straight sets, as the Cardinals swept the match tonight to win 7-0.

Next Up
    Franciscan will return to action in Wheeling next Saturday, as they host Baldwin Wallace. This will be the second of three straight tough, non-conference foes to start the season. The Barons played the Yellow Jackets in Wheeling last season, as the opposition won 8-1. The Barons are in search of their first win all-time against them, as they will meet for the 14th time on Saturday, February 22nd.

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