Cocoa Beach, Fla. -- After kicking off its Spring Break trip to Florida with a comprehensive victory over Dickinson College on Monday night, the Wheaton men's tennis team faced a short turnaround ahead of its next match this afternoon. The Thunder drove out to the coast to take on Ohio Northern University at the Racquet Club of Cocoa Beach on Tuesday in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Polar Bears earned a 6-1 win in today's contest to improve to 4-4 on the season, while Wheaton fell to 2-5 with the result. 

Despite competitive challenges from the Thunder's #1 and #2 pairings, the OAC squad swept the doubles fixtures this afternoon to collect the first point of the match. Ohio Northern then proved its quality in the singles competitions, winning five of the six duals in straight sets. But Ryder Ward ensured that his team did not walk away from today's match empty-handed, winning his #5 singles contest, 6-3, 6-3, to log his third-consecutive individual win.

Wheaton will take a break from competition on Wednesday before rounding out its week in the Sunshine State with a 12:30 PM Eastern Time clash against Wheaton (Mass.) on Thursday.