OTTAWA, Kan. -- The John Brown University men's tennis squad was unable to recover from an early deficit in doubles play, falling 6-1 to Ottawa (Kan.) on Saturday morning (March 1) at the Forest Park Tennis Courts.
The Braves (3-1) secured the doubles point with back-to-back wins. At the second slot, Josh McClure and Santiago Perez defeated sophomore Negad Ezzat and freshman Lucas Machado 6-2. The clinching match came at the top spot, where Samuel Holmstrom and Matheus Kittel outlasted junior Spencer Keeter and sophomore Brady Dick in a 6-4 decision. Ottawa completed the doubles sweep at the third flight, with Gabriel Lares and Evan Phillips earning a 6-3 victory over junior Jonathan Hillock and sophomore Andrew Aylor.
Ottawa extended its lead early in singles play, with Holmstrom earning a 6-3, 6-3 win over Ezzat at the top spot. At the second flight, Kittel secured a 6-1, 6-2 result over Dick before Lares clinched the match for the Braves at the fourth slot, defeating Machado 6-3, 6-0.
Keeter provided the lone point for John Brown (4-5) at the third flight, battling to a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over McClure to improve to 8-1 in singles play this season. Ottawa closed out the contest with wins at the fifth and sixth slots. Perez defeated Hillock 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5, while Phillips rounded out the match at the last flight with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Aylor.
John Brown now returns to the courts on Tuesday afternoon (March 4) when the Golden Eagles travel to take on Evangel (Mo.) at the Cooper Tennis Complex in a noon first serve.
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