By Kristina Siemens
HAWAII – The Northwestern men's tennis team faced not only a lot of tough weather conditions, but also a lot of tough competition while on their spring break trip in Hawaii. Their first match out in Hawaii was a double-header, the day after they landed in Hawaii, against the Brigham Young University-Hawaii Cougars on Friday, March 4th. The Cougars defeated the Eagles 9-0 in both matches.
Northwestern struggled to win a game in singles play versus the Cougars. Northwestern's No. 6 singles player, James Ekman (River Falls, Wis./River Falls), however, was able to give his opponents the toughest challenge and was able to win a few games on them. He played hard but was defeated 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-1.
Josh Fread (Minneapolis, Minn./Osseo) (Minneapolis, Minn./Osseo), Northwestern's No. 4 singles player, gave it his all in his matches winning a few games but also lost 6-2, 6-3 and 6-0, 6-1.
Northwestern also struggled in all of their doubles matches against BYU-Hawaii. No. 3 doubles,
Derek Gee (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool) (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool) and Ekman gave their opponents a challenge in the only doubles match they played, but were defeated 8-3 by the Cougar's Isaac Hadley and Kenyon Finch.
After the Northwestern men's tennis team faced some tough losses against Brigham Young, they suited up for their match against the Hawaii Pacific University Warriors. The Eagles fell to the Warriors losing 9-0 on Saturday, March 5th.
Caleb Kauss (St. Paul, Minn./Harding) (St. Paul, Minn./Harding), Northwestern's No. 1 singles player, played the match of his life versus world-ranked Petr Michnev. Even though Kauss lost, 6-1, 6-1, he was able to get 2 games from Petr which is a pretty big accomplishment in the tennis world. No. 3 singles player,
Keagan Blancke (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) was also able to win a few games in his match against JC Pauli, but was defeated 6-2, 6-2.
In doubles play, all three of Northwestern's doubles teams were able to make the Warriors work. No. 1 doubles partners Kauss and Blancke came close to defeating Petr Michnev and Nick Loucas but fell 8-4. Northwestern's No. 2 and No. 3 doubles both fought hard in their matches but ultimately lost 8-3, 8-2 respectively.
The University of Hawaii-Hilo was another tough opponent for Northwestern. Northwestern took on the Vulcans in Hilo on Friday, March 11th, and fell to the Vulcans 9-0.
In singles play, Northwestern's No. 2 and No. 4,
David Knight (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) and Fread respectively, gave their competition the biggest run for their money. They both eventually fell 6-2, 6-1 to their opponents. Blancke and
Jay Werness (Farmington, Minn./Rosemount) (Farmington, Minn./Rosemount), playing Northwestern's No. 3 and No. 6 respectively, both lost to their opponents 6-1, 6-0.
The Northwestern men's tennis team put up a fight against the Vulcans in doubles play. All of the Northwestern's doubles teams were able to get at least 2 games against their opponents. Fread and Ekman came the close to winning in No. 3 doubles, but were defeated 8-4 by Larson Oliva and Ikona Freitas. Northwestern's No. 1 and No. 2 doubles also put up a good fight but fell 8-3, 8-2 respectively.
After their skills were tested in Hawaii, the Northwestern men's tennis team, now 0-8 will try to get some wins under their belts as they face Concordia College-Moorhead on Saturday, March 19th at the Lifetime Fitness Center in St. Paul.
