MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's tennis team is championship bound. The Eagles will play in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship Saturday after UNW earned the spot in the final match by besting Bethany Lutheran College 8-1 on Friday.
UNW 8, BLC 1
The Eagles took all but one of the singles matches against the Vikings.
CJ Lloyd (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) notched yet another victory in No. 1 singles (6-0, 2-6, 1-0 [10-5]) after a hard-fought battle. No. 2 singles went more easily for the Purple and Gold, as
Brett Jacobus (Lakeville, Minn. /Lakeville North) snagged another win (6-0, 6-3).
Landon Ridpath (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech ) claimed the victory in No. 3 singles (6-2, 6-0) and
Derek Williams (Zimmerman, Minn./Elk River) got the job done in No. 4 singles (6-3, 6-0). In the only perfect matchup,
Joshua Kimball (Waseca, Minn./Waseca) dominated No. 5 singles (6-0, 6-0) to give UNW another point.
The University of Northwestern cruised through doubles play, with all three matchups ending with Eagles' victories. Lloyd and Jacobus paired up in the No. 1 slot (8-5) for a typical performance. In No. 2 doubles, Ridpath and Williams rolled (8-2) to victory. The final UNW pairing of Kimball and
Cameron Fair (Sterling, Kan./Sterling) bested the Vikings in the No. 3 doubles contest (8-3) to seal the deal.
The Eagles will take on the Saints of the number-one seeded College of Saint Scholastica on Saturday, April 7, at 1:30 p.m. The Saints proved to be the only UMAC team able to best UNW during the regular season, with the championship being the third meeting between the teams this year. The title will be decided at Baseline Tennis Center to wrap the season.
