Junior Joe Bove's comeback win at #5 singles gave the Forester men's tennis team a 5-4 triumph over Monmouth College on Sunday. Lake Forest added a 9-0 victory over Illinois College later in the day.
Bove dropped the first set 6-4 and trailed 4-1 in the second. He won the next five games to take set two and, as the only match still on the court, took the third set 6-4 to secure the Forester victory.
Monmouth earned the first point of the morning with a win at #3 doubles but Lake Forest evened the score when sophomore Nick Zazove and junior Matt Kacyn doubled up the Fighting Scots 8-4 at #1. Freshman Brett O'Brien and junior Scott Drier prevailed 8-5 at #2 to put the Foresters on top.
The top spot in the singles lineup was the first to finish with Zazove coming out on top 6-2, 6-0. After Monmouth took the point at #3, O'Brien came from behind for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 triumph at #2. The Scots then finished off wins at #2 and #4 to tie the match and set up Bove's dramatic victory.
Lake Forest's win over Illinois College was far more convincing and began with O'Brien and Drier defeating their counterparts at #2 doubles 8-2. Freshmen Brant Christensen an Louis Payne prevailed by the same score at #3 and Zazove and Kacyn added an 8-1 victory at #1.
O'Brien took both sets 6-1 at #2 singles and Bove came up with the match-clinching point for the second time on the day by blanking the Blueboys' #5 player 6-0, 6-0. Drier edged out his opponent 6-3, 6-4 at #4 and Zazove knocked off the Blueboys' best 6-4, 6-0 to join O'Brien with a perfect 4-0 Sunday. Kacyn rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 victory at #3 and Christensen closed out the contest with a 6-0, 6-2 win at #6.
The back-to-back victories improved Lake Forest's overall record on the season to 10-6 and Midwest Conference mark to 4-0. Monmouth fell to 3-9 overall and 1-1 in the league and Illinois College is now 5-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The Foresters will travel to Iowa next weekend for a pair of MWC matches, the first at Grinnell College on Saturday and the second on Sunday at Cornell College. Both contests will begin at 9:00 a.m.