Box Score When John Carroll won the OAC regular season and tournament title in 2015, it was done with one senior and a flock of sophomores and freshmen. In the conference tournament title match, the Blue Streaks trailed 2-1 after doubles but rallied in singles play to earn the program's first NCAA automatic bid.

One year later in an almost eerily similar manner, the sophomore and junior laden Blue Streaks used a singles rally to once again overcome a doubles deficit and secure an OAC title and Division III tournament bid.

John Carroll survived tough losses to and comebacks from crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace Saturday afternoon at the Lindner Family Tennis Center to prevail, 5-3, for a second consecutive OAC tournament championship crown.

Box Score

John Carroll has now captured the OAC crown seven times -- 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2015 and 2016. Last year's title was the first that carried John Carroll into NCAA postseason play. The Blue Streaks will make it back-to-back appearances.

It was a battle for the entire three-plus hours as several duels went to a third set and all the doubles contests were tight battles.

The first point was earned by John Carroll as #3 pair Tyler Cole and Nick Siciliano won the final five games to subdue Matt Harris and Kevin Fredrick, 8-3. Baldwin Wallace answered back as its #2 duo of Kyle Patterson and Dominic Polifrone won the final three games against Scott Adsit and Dillon O'Brien for an 8-5 triumph.

In the pivotal #1 match that was tooth-and-nail on nearly every point, JCU led 8-7 and had two match points, but the senior Yellow Jackets tandem of Peter Harris and Doug Ganim caught the wave of momentum at the right time and won 11 of the final 12 points, including seven of eight in the tiebreaker, to outlast Jad Abdul-Aal and David Sinense 9-8 (7-1).

Trailing 2-1 just as it did to Otterbein last year in the title match, John Carroll would need to win four of the six singles duels to repeat as champions. 

Cole fired the first salvo with a 6-2 6-1 defeat of Nathan Katz in the #5 spot, but the Yellow Jackets retaliated with a straight set win by Kyle patterson over Alex Guthrie at #3 singles to take a 3-2 lead with four contests still ongoing.

John Carroll had won the first set in all four of the remaining matches on court, but in three of the four, Baldwin Wallace answered back to force a third and deciding set and ratchet up the tension a few more notches.

The first to break through for JCU was the lone freshmen in the line-up. Sinense, who won the first set against Ganim 6-3 and had a second set lead but fell 6-4, would dominate the final frame and post a 6-0 victory to square the overall score at 3-3.

The next domino to fall was at #6 singles, where Adsit survived a rough close to the second set for a 6-2 5-7 6-3 triumph over Jake Liebler .

Needing just one more win for the title, the honor went to Abdul-Aal, who recorded his 50th career singles match (and arguably his biggest win of his 50) by knocking off archrival and 2015 OAC Player of the Year Peter Harris in a tantalizing battle, 6-4 2-6 6-3.

Siciliano was leading his #4 singles match but was not needed as John Carroll improved to 14-7 with the victory, while Baldwin Wallace fell to 24-5.

John Carroll will learn of its pairing in the NCAA Division III Championship tournament on Monday.

Full coverage will be posted on JCUSports.com.