The eighth-ranked Ouachita men’s tennis team captured the first crown of the 2008 season Tuesday night as the Tigers blanked Harding, 9-0, to win the Gulf South Conference West Division regular season championship.
Ouachita (11-4) opened with three straight doubles wins as the No. 10 team of Ondra Vana/Jakub Smid beat Ethan Bryant/Marco Ruiz, 8-3. Vagen Akapian/Jan Plewinksi topped Enrique Mendoz/Olzhas Taniyey, 8-3 and Issac Anders/Till Heilshorn knocked off Richard Rios/Brett Hoch, 8-1.
In singles play, Vana (ranked No. 16) topped Taniyey, 6-0, 6-2, while Plewinski beat Ruiz, 6-1, 6-1. Heilshorn, at No. 3 singles, knocked off Bryant, 6-1, 6-1 and Akapian defeated Rios, 6-0, 6-1. Smid beat Mendoza, 6-4, 6-2 and Anders rounded out the match with a 6-0, 6-1 win of Hoch.
The Tigers, who wrapped up the top spot in this weekend’s Gulf South Conference Tournament, plays host against Southeastern Oklahoma State at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16 to conclude the regular season. n
