The Malone College men's tennis team collected three victories in as many matches last week as the squad defeated Cedarville 5-4 in a home match on Monday, posted a 6-3 victory at Walsh University on Wednesday and closed out the week at Tiffin University with a 6-3 victory.  With the 3-0 week, Malone now stands at 12-4 overall and at 3-0 in the AMC.
    

In the Walsh victory, with Malone leading 2-1 after doubles play, two Pioneer athletes, #2 singles player Kyle Bowers and #3 David Cairns, continued to battle in singles competition despite still recovering from the flu.  Bowers was able to post an incredibly hard-fought 7-6, 6-3 win despite feeling ill while Cairns, after winning the first set 6-1 but dropping the second set 6-4, was forced to retire after the second set due to his illness.  
     

"Neither player really should have been out there on the court, "said head coach Tom Brown.  "But I left it up to them and they wanted to play despite the fact that they were very ill.  The other guys on the team were really inspired by their willingness to help the team and I know that really motivated everyone."
    

Scores for the matches (in order - Cedarville, Walsh, Tiffin) were as follows:
#1 Jason Christman (Sr., McKinley H.S.)       W  6-2, 6-3               L 6-4, 6-4                    W 6-4, 6-1
#2 Kyle Bowers (Jr., Norwalk H.S.)                  L  7-5, 1-6, 6-4        W 7-6, 6-3                   L 6-0, 6-0
#3 David Cairns (Fr., Strongsville H.S.)          W 4-6, 7-5, 6-1       L 1-6, 6-4, (retired)     L 6-4, 6-4
#4 Nathaniel Rodd (So., Canton, OH)            W 6-4, 6-1               W 6-1, 7-5                    W 6-2, 6-2
#5 Tim Springirth (Jr., Erie, PA)                        L 6-4, 2-6, 10-4      W 6-4, 6-4                    W 6-4, 7-5
#6 Tim Frazier (So., Beaver Falls, PA)            L  6-4, 6-2                W 7-5, 4-6/11-9          L 6-2, 4-6, 6-2

#1 Christman/Bowers                                       W  8-2                       L 8-4                             W 9-7
#2 Cairns/Rodd                                                  L 9-7                         W 8-6                            W 8-5
#3 Springirth/Dan Yard (Sr., Louisville H.S.)  W 8-6                       W 8-6                            W 8-5
    

This week, Malone (12-4, 3-0 AMC) will play at Grove City (PA) College on Monday at 3:00 p.m. and at Ohio Dominican University on Thursday at 4:00 p.m..  The team will close out the week by playing at Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.