MASON — The Ohio Northern men's tennis team saw its season come to an end with a 5-1 loss in the semifinals of the 2018 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
The Polar Bears end their season with a 15-9 record, while the Purple Raiders advance to Saturday's OAC finals with a 14-3 mark.
Junior Jake Abbott (Kenton) and sophomore Connor Christian (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) led the Polar Bears with an 8-4 victory at No. 3 doubles.
MtU won the other two doubles courts and led 2-1 entering singles play.
The Purple Raiders then won courts 1, 2, and 3 singles to claim the match.
ONU was leading or tied in the other three singles matches when the match was finished.
Senior Cody Hurley (Centerville) was leading 6-2, 5-4 at No. 6 singles, junior Tim Kargl (Downers Grove, Ill./South) was tied 2-6, 6-2, 2-2 at No. 4 singles and Abbott was tied 2-6, 6-2, 2-2 at No. 5 singles.
"We made good progress this season," Ohio Northern head coach Mike Bonnell said. "We moved up three spots in the OAC and made a good run at them today. We are heading in the correct direction as a program. The future is bright for sure."
