With strong performances all around, the UW Oshkosh men’s tennis team defeated Concordia University Wisconsin 8-1 on Feb. 22 at the Oshkosh YMCA Tennis Center.

The Titans won five of six singles matches and got back to winning ways after struggling last week.

Junior Kevin Lewis won the first singles match for Oshkosh by defeating Skip Turner 6-1 in both sets.

Lewis said he was capable of taking command of the contest.

“I was able to dictate the point and really take control of the match,” Lewis said. “I made a big effort to come to the net a lot and end the point with a volley or an overhead.”

Lewis along with sophomore Mike Gillespie and senior Adam Kasper recorded wins in both singles and doubles play.

The lone victory for Concordia was by Russell Johnson after he beat sophomore Aidan Sauberlich in three sets.

The Titans responded nicely though and conquered their way through the rest of the matches.

Freshman Alex Yang also won an impressive match in singles versus Antoine Leon.

After losing the first set, Lang battled his way to a third set tiebreaker and scored 10 straight points to give him the win 10-3.

Yang had some bad service games in the first set and the opponent took advantage of it.

He said he improved his game in the following sets.

“I was more aggressive and confident,” Yang said. “I played better in the important points and kept my composure.”

Junior Bobby Brooks, who was not feeling well and would not play in singles, competed in his only match of the day as he and Lewis defeated Taylor Shaffer and Skip Turner 8-2 in No. 1 doubles.

Brooks and Lewis started out the season on fire but they suffered some tough losses at the UW-Whitewater Invitational the previous week.

Brooks expressed what it was like for them to get on track again in doubles.

“It felt great to get back to winning with Kevin. We both know we are a very solid team and can compete with anyone,” Brooks said. “Last weekend we didn’t play to our ability. Yesterday we got back to our normal form.”

Sauberlich also recorded a win in No. 2 doubles with Gillespie as they swept Russell Johnson and Terry Jones to help Oshkosh complete the 8-1 victory over Concordia.

Brooks talked about what they focused on during practice and how that helped them in their performance this week.

“We worked more on singles and being more consistent,” Brooks said. “I think that translated well into Friday’s match. I saw more consistent play up and down the lineup.”

Head coach Steve Francour said he thought the team pulled through nicely after a tough loss last week and expects another good week of practice.

“We had to recover physically and mentally,” Francour said. “I thought the team did a really good job understanding we got to get back to work and get ourselves ready not only for this match, but for the tough matches going forward.”

Oshkosh improved its record to 3-4 and will look to continue their winning ways when it hosts Carthage College and Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday.