Tigers Split A Pair On Day 2 Of Spring Break Trip

Mitchell Patterson and the Tigers are off to a 5-1 start to the 2013-14 season. File Photo | Erin Pence
Mitchell Patterson and the Tigers are off to a 5-1 start to the 2013-14 season. File Photo | Erin Pence

HILTON HEAD, SC - The Wittenberg Tigers experienced highs and lows on Day 2 of the team's annual Spring Break trip, winning 9-0 over Penn St.-Behrend and losing 9-0 to Case Western.

The split left Wittenberg with a 5-1 record on the 2013-14 season. Penn St.-Behrend fell to 2-8, while Case Western, ranked third in the Central Region and eighth in all of NCAA Division III, improved to 8-3.

Against Penn St.-Behrend, Wittenberg opened with a doubles sweep, starting with an 8-0 win at No. 1 by senior Tyler Strong (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) and freshman Juan Mena (Quito, Ecuador/Colego Amrcano-Quito). Sophomore Jialang Woo (Shanghai, China/Yew Chung Int. School) paired with sophomore Dennis Gleason (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles) to win at No. 2, and sophomore Mitchell Patterson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) teamed with freshman Sean Munson (Chicago, Ill./Roycemore) for the victory at No. 3.

In singles, sophomore Stas Pakhomov (Richmond, British Columbia/Sir Winston Churchill) sparked the sweep with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1. Also winning were freshman Akbar Tiwana (Lahore, Pakistan/Aitchison) at No. 2, Woo at No. 3, Gleason at No. 4, Patterson at No. 5 and Munson at No. 6.

Case Western won all nine matches comfortably in the day's second competition for the Tigers, who will round out match play on Hilton Head Island with matches against Marietta and Eastern Nazarene on Wednesday, March 12.