It Took A While, But Harding Men's Tennis Defeated Ouachita Baptist

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The last time Harding defeated Ouachita Baptist in men's tennis, none of the team's current players was alive. Neto Cacace, the team's student assistant, came along a little over two months after it happened.

Just to give a few hints: Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was the No. 1 song of the year. Bill Clinton had been President for four months, and the Dallas Cowboys had recently won the Super Bowl with Michael Jackson performing at halftime. DVDs had not been invented, and students at Harding were not yet receiving @harding.edu email addresses upon enrollment because very few had heard of the internet.

April 10, 1993. That was the last time it happened … until Saturday. Ouachita's streak had reached, well, way too many, but Harding used two close victories in doubles, combined with four singles wins to end it 6-3 in the Great American Conference opener for both teams. It was the eighth straight win overall for Harding head coach David Redding's team and Ouachita's fourth straight loss.

Adria Abella and Pablo Trevino won 8-6 at No. 3, and Carlos Crisostomo and Luis Tirado pulled out a 9-8 squeaker by winning the tiebreaker 7-4 for their seventh straight victory and 18th of the season.

Harding (11-5, 1-0) needed three singles wins to make history, and it got four. Abella at No. 5, Morgan Salvan at No. 4, and Tirado at No. 3 all won in straight sets, Tirado with the clincher. Sendra finished off the day with a three-set win at No. 2.

Salvan's win was his 21st of the season, tying Harding's NCAA single-season wins record, set by Darren Wade in 1997-98. Salvan has won four straight matches and is 13-2 in duals this season.

Tennis Match Results
Harding vs Ouachita Baptist
Mar 31, 2018 at Arkadelphia, Ark.
(Ward Tennis Center)

Harding 6, Ouachita Baptist 3

Singles competition
1. Dan Kaplun (OBU) def. Carlos Crisostomo (HU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Alejandro Sendra (HU) def. Juan Moncada (OBU) 6-1, 5-7, 10-6
3. Luis Tirado (HU) def. Lennart Lonnemann (OBU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Morgan Salvan (HU) def. Nair Adi (OBU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Adria Abella (HU) def. Carlos Solorazano (OBU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Braydon Montgomery (OBU) def. Pablo Trevino (HU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Lennart Lonnemann/Juan Moncada (OBU) def. #33 Alejandro Sendra/Morgan Salvan (HU) 8-4
2. Carlos Crisostomo/Luis Tirado (HU) def. Carlos Solorazano/Braydon Montgomery (OBU) 9-8
3. Adria Abella/Pablo Trevino (HU) def. Nair Adi/Dan Kaplun (OBU) 8-6

Match Notes:
Harding 11-5, 1-0
Ouachita Baptist 2-10, 0-1

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Players Mentioned

Adria Abella: 5' 7"; Senior

Carlos Crisostomo: 5' 10"; Senior

Alejandro Sendra: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Pablo Trevino: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Morgan Salvan: 6' 4"; Freshman

Luis Tirado: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Adria Abella
: 5' 7"; Senior

Carlos Crisostomo
: 5' 10"; Senior

Alejandro Sendra
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Pablo Trevino
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Morgan Salvan
: 6' 4"; Freshman

Luis Tirado
: 5' 7"; Sophomore