LIMA, Ohio (January 28, 2024) – The No. 9 Denison University men's tennis team kicked off its 2024 season with a split of two matches against the University of Northwestern Ohio (NAIA) and the University of Findlay (D-II) on Sunday at the Westwood Tennis and Fitness Center in Lima, Ohio. The Big Red fell 4-3 in their season opener against the hosts from UNOH, who are ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, before bouncing back to win 6-1 in their second match against Findlay.
 
Notable Results:
Match #1 – No. 9 Denison 3, Northwestern Ohio 4:
Doubles

• Denison won the doubles point as Zachary Portnoy and Colin Gramley won 6-4 over Nils Messin and Malik Omarkhanov at No. 2 doubles while Jacob Patterson and Andy Mackler won 7-5 over Lucas Perez and Mathieu Strauss at the No. 3 doubles.
• Kael Shah and Ethan Green fell 6-4 to Sergio Conde and Daniel Vishnick at No. 1 doubles.

Singles

• Despite losing the doubles point, UNOH won at each of the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 singles spots, two of which required a third set, to steal the match away from the Big Red.
• Denison's two wins in singles came from Green in a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 decision over Conde at No. 1 singles, and from Mackler in a 7-5, 6-2 win over Messin at No. 6 singles.
• The two three-set losses for the Big Red saw Patterson fall 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 against Strauss at No. 3 singles while Anthony Payiavlas fell 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Perez at No. 5 singles.

 
Match #2 – No. 9 Denison 6, Findlay 1:
Doubles

• Denison again won the doubles point with wins at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
• Portnoy and Gramley defeated Andrew Codita and Luigi Bove 6-2 in the No. 2 spot while Mackler teamed up with Archie Turner to earn a 6-1 win over Ethan Shoesmith and Max Hosey in the No. 3 spot.
• Shah and Green fell in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (8-6), against Arthur Bord and Dallas Ramsey in the top spot.

Singles

• Green got it started with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Bove at No. 2 singles, and then Milan Gonela won 6-2, 6-3 over Hosey at No. 5 singles to make it 3-0 Big Red.
• The clinching point came from Patterson with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Codita at No. 3 singles.
• Nickawn Namdar added a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Shoesmith at No. 6 singles.
• Then in the final two singles matches, Mackler lost a third-set super tiebreaker, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (11-9), against Ramsey at No. 4 singles, and then Shah defeated Bord in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.

Next Up: A big neutral-site matchup looms against the No. 10 nationally-ranked team in NCAA Division III, the University of Chicago, but the Big Red will have nearly two weeks to prepare before taking on the Maroons on Saturday, February 10, in Indianapolis, Indiana.