ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Northwestern men's tennis team opened their spring break schedule in Florida on Monday with a pair of wins. The Eagles earned a gutsy 5-4 win over Trine University to open the day and swept King's College 6-0 in a match shortened by rain.
Match One
In doubles against the Thunder,
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) and
Stewart Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) gave UNW an early 1-0 lead with an 8-3 win at the #2 match. Trine evened the score at 1-1 with an 8-6 win at #3 Doubles.
The Eagles retook the lead with a win at the #1 Doubles match.
Adam Ryerse (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) and
Jack Geurkink (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) battled the Thunder to a 7-7 tiebreaker, sending the match to a tiebreaker. The UNW duo stood strong and earned a 7-4 win in the tiebreak to take the match 87-7 and earn Northwestern another team point.
Leading 2-1 heading in to singles, the Eagles kept up the momentum as Weddle earned a 6-1, 6-1 win at the #4 match to put UNW up 3-1. Morrell followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the #1 Singles match, giving UNW a 4-1 lead and needing just one more point to win.
With their backs to the wall, the Thunder responded with wins at #2 and #5 singles to bring the match score to 4-3.
As Trine worked their way back into it, Geurkink was battling in his #3 Singles match. The junior took the opening set 6-2, but fell 6-4 in the second to send the match to a tiebreaker. Jack rallied from the second set setback to take the tiebreaker 10-7 to win the fifth team point and the match for Northwestern.
Match Two
In their second match of the day, the Eagles took on the King's College Monarchs. UNW opened the match with a sweep of the doubles competition. Weddle and Morrell took the first point with an 8-0 sweep in the #2 match.
Tyrus Studer (Rapid City, S.D./Stevens) and
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) followed with another 8-0 sweep, this time at the #3 match. The duo of Ryerse and Geurkink won their #1 Doubles match 8-2 to complete UNW's sweep.
In singles, Rupp earned the fourth Northwestern point with a 6-1, 6-0 win at the #6 spot. Studer clinched the win for UNW with a 6-1, 6-1 win in his #5 Singles match.
Isaac Velgersdyk (Savage, Minn./Southwest Christian) added a sixth team point for Northwestern with a 6-2, 6-0 win in the #4 match, but rain caused the match to be cut short right afterwards.
With the win already secured by the Eagles, the match was called at 6-0. UNW was winning in the other three matches at the time of stopped play. Morrell was a point away from a win at the #1 match, up 40-15 in a 6-1, 5-1 match. Weddle led 6-1, 4-0 at #2 Singles. At the #3 match, Geurkink led 6-2, 2-1.
Next Up
The Eagles take on Cornell College on Tuesday, March 8, starting at 12:00 P.M. eastern time.
