The Heidelberg University men’s and women’s tennis team traveled to Hilton Head, South Carolina to continue the spring portion of their 2012-13 season. Starting on Monday, March 11 the Heidelberg men battled five opponents in five consecutive days before returning to Ohio.
The Student Princes finished 2-3 overall but picked up key victories over respectable competition.
On the first day of competition the Berg squared off with Lake Forest (IL.) College. The Student Princes fell to the Foresters, 7-2 picking up one win in both singles and doubles action.
Matt McDivitt (Cortland/Lakeview) scored the lone singles victory and teamed up with Dorian Kempf (Galion) to take down their LFC counterparts in doubles action.
McDivitt downed his single opponent by a score of 6-4 in the first set. The second set needed a tiebreaker as the Student Prince battled his way to a 7-6 victory, dominating the tiebreaker, 7-1.
The duo of McDivitt and Kempf handed the Foresters a 9-7 loss in doubles competition.
The Berg’s next opponent would be the Panthers of Greenville (IL.) College. Two wins in doubles action along with three singles victories propelled the Student Prince to their first team victory in South Carolina.
Again it was the duo of McDivitt and Kempf picking up a victory for the Berg in doubles action, but this time they were joined by the combination of Cliff Goetz (Oak Harbor) and Zach Schwenning (Barberton). Goetz and Schwenning dropped their Greenville opponents, 9-8 with a 7-2 tiebreaker, while McDivitt and Kempf scored a 9-7 victory in their doubles matchup.
In singles action, Goetz, Schwenning and Kempf tallied victories for the Student Princes. Goetz, who played as the Heidelberg number one, took the first set 6-4 but dropped the second set 4-6. In the third set tiebreaker, Goetz pulled out a 10-8 victory.
Schwenning competed in the number two spot and took both sets from his Greenville counterpart, 6-4; 6-4. Kempf who swung his way to a two set victory, 6-1; 7-5 and occupied the third Heidelberg position.
Following their victory over Greenville, the Berg picked up another team win over Alfred (N.Y.) University. The Berg swung their way to a 6-3 victory, sweeping double competition and receiving three victories in singles action.
Goetz and Schwenning teamed up to blank their opponents, 8-0 while the duo of McDivitt and Kempf picked up their third doubles victory in Hilton Head, 8-3. The third Heidelberg doubles pairing consisted of freshman Dan Driscoll (University Heights/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) and junior Brandon Lust (Bucyrus). Driscoll and Lust served up a 9-7 victory.
In singles action it was Schwenning’s 6-1; 6-0 victory, Kempf’s 2-6; 6-3; 10-7 victory and Lust’s 7-5; 6-4 victory that closed out the match for the Berg.
On the fourth day of competition, the Berg faced Juniata (PA.) College, who handed the Student Prince the second loss of their Hilton Head swing, 7-2.
Goetz and Schwenning scored the only doubles victory against the Eagles, 8-6. Schwenning went on to claim the lone singles victory for the Student Princes, downing his Juniata counterpart, 7-5; 6-3.
In their final contest the Student Princes battled the Fighting Scots of Gordon (MA.) College. The Scots dealt the Berg a 5-4 loss to close out the South Carolina trip.
Once again the tandem of Goetz and Schwenning pulled out a doubles victory for the Berg, 9-7.
Kempf and McDivitt found their fourth doubles victory over their JC counterparts, 8-3. The duo finished 4-1 overall in doubles action.
Schwenning and Kempf went on to pick up the only two singles victories for the Student Princes, winning their matches, 6-2; 6-2 and 6-3; 6-3 respectively.
After returning home, the Berg was scheduled to battle to Yellow Jackets of Defiance College in Tiffin on Tuesday, March 19, but the match was postponed because of inclement weather. The match between the Berg and Defiance is rescheduled for Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at the Heidelberg University Tennis Courts.
As a result of the postponement, the Berg will open Ohio Athletic Conference competition against the Crusaders of Capital University on Saturday, March 23. Action from Bexley, Ohio is slated for 1:00 p.m.