After spending a week in South Carolina, the men’s and women’s tennis teams laced up their Nikes and slathered on sun block for home competition under the out-of-hiding Oberlin sunshine. The two teams lined up against the College of Wooster. On Tuesday, the Wooster men proved their college benefits from the same weather patterns as they shrugged off the Yeomen home advantage, 5-2. The Oberlin women, however, basked in the rays, frying the Scots 8-1 the following afternoon.

“They put up a good fight against a strong team. The overall score didn’t reflect the closeness,” Matt Pantell, a senior super fan said of the women’s team. Senior Jessica Hauser heated up the number one singles position with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over cold, weak Alison Inderfurth. The Yeowomen also won the doubles matches with a combined score of 24-7.

Senior Mark Knee and first-year Chris “The Iceman” Pray were able to win the number one and two singles spots. The men dropped to a still impressive 9-2 – while the women moved up to a 12-2 record.

In regard to their Spring Break week, the women claim that their creative talents extend beyond the white-boxed lines of the tennis court. “The women’s tennis team likes to get their coach for April Fool’s day,” said sophomore Bianca Barr. “Two years in a row we have gotten him good.” Barr left the imaginations of fans to frolic as to the details of those pranks. Their record for the week, however, was no tomfoolery.

After a close 5-4 loss to John Carroll on the 28th, the women came back to win three against Georgian College (9-0) on the 29th, Sioux Falls (8-1) on the 30th and Greenville (9-0) on that mischievous April 1st date.

Housed in a nearby condo on the same island, the men went 2-1. They beat John Carroll 5-2 on Monday the 28th, Sioux Falls in a close 4-3 match on the 29th and then gave up their first loss of the season to Taylor University in a tight 5-4 loss on the 30th.

Taylor is a member of the NAIA, which characteristically plays nine point matches instead of the seven familiar to Oberlin. Their upward momentum against the Yeomen started when they won the pre-game coin toss to make the match worth nine total points. Regardless of the loss, the men reflected upon their experience positively. “We looked at it as a good opportunity to get experience in before this part of the season, which is the hardest,” said first-year doubles player Ezra Goldman.

The men travel to the GLCA Championships this weekend, while the women go to Baldwin Wallace on Saturday. Although they’ll be playing under foreign skies, Pantell guarantees they will not disappoint in their performance. “Let’s face it, they kick ass,” he said, “and they look good while doing it.”