TOPEKA, Kan. - The No. 41-ranked Ouachita Baptist Tigers scored a 4-2 win over the No. 49-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's tennis team Monday in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament held at the Kossover Tennis Center.
The Tigers avenged a 4-3 loss to the Bearcats on April 29 at the MIAA/GAC Tournament with a 4-2 victory in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers captured the doubles point and then secured three singles wins to lock up the dual victory and end the Bearcats' season.
OBU used a pair of victories from its ranked doubles teams at No. 1 and No. 2 to take a 1-0 lead in the dual. The No. 22-ranked squad of Yarin Aebi and Ramon Strassman picked up a 6-3 win over Northwest's
Dominik Wijntjes and
Antonin Leborne at No. 1 doubles. The No. 29-ranked duo of Moritz Buss and Aaron Osmond took down Northwest's
Bernardo Henriques and
Jules Subra, 6-2.
Pavlo Vysotin and Leborne kept the Bearcat hopes alive in singles play as they each tallied victories. Vysotin posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Aebi at No. 2 singles. Leborne gained a 6-2, 6-4 against OBU's Maximilian Brenner at No. 6 singles.
OBU's Osmond picked up a key three-set win at No. 5 singles to boost the Tigers' winning effort. Osmond tallied a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 win over Northwest's
Jules Subra.
The No. 1 singles match was left unfinished as Northwest's Wijntjes led No. 56-ranked Strassman 6-2, 3-6, 5-4 when the match was halted.
Northwest finished its dual season with an overall record of 12-10. Ouachita Baptist is 16-8 and will take on No. 11-ranked Washburn in the regional final on Tuesday.
