EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The University of Northwestern's men's tennis team took to the road over the weekend, facing off against the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (UWEC) and Lake Forest College in a Saturday double header. The Eagles struggled to get anything going against the UWEC Blugolds, dropping the contest 0-9. The second matchup of the day went slightly better for UNW, as the Eagles fell 2-7 against the Foresters.

UWEC 9, UNW 0
LFC 7, UNW 2

Northwestern simply faced a better team in UWEC, conceding four the six singles matchups without scoring a point. Sophomore Joshua Kimball (Waseca, Minn./Waseca) fought through (6-4, 6-2), coming up just short in No. 5 singles. The Blugolds took all three doubles matchups, wavering only in the No. 1 matchup as CJ Lloyd (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) and Brett Jacobus (Lakeville, Minn. /Lakeville North) went down swinging (8-3) for the Eagles.

The future for the Eagles' men's tennis program got a chance to shine, as freshman Landon Ridpath (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech ) won No. 3 singles (6-4, 6-4) to get Northwestern on the board. Lake Forest cleaned house for the remaining singles matchups, with only Jacobus (3-6, 6-4, 3-10) earning an extra set. Northwestern claimed the No. 3 doubles pairing, as Kimball and Cameron Fair (Sterling, Kan./Sterling) (9-7) edged out a victory.

The Eagles will bring the focus back in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) next Saturday, February 27, as they travel to Duluth to take on the College of St. Scholastica Saints at 2:30 p.m. Northwestern will try to get back to .500 before taking off for the spring trip to Florida.