ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team was back in action Tuesday in Florida after salvaging a split on the opening day of its annual spring break trip. Tuesday's foe was Juniata College, who entered the match with a 5-1 on the season. In an intense battle between one-loss teams, Juniata was able to prevail, 5-4.
Juniata held a slight edge after doubles play was completed. Northwestern's one doubles duo of
Stewart Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) and
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) fell 4-8, and the two doubles team of
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) dropped a heartbreaker by an 8-7 (7-1) margin.
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Ben Schutz (Maplewood, Minn./Homeschool) salvaged a point for UNW at three doubles, defeating their opponents 8-5.
Morrell hung tough in his #1 singles match but ultimately fell, 5-7, 5-7. Weddle won a thriller at #2 singles by a 5-7, 6-1, 10-3 (tiebreak) margin before Haack suffered a 3-6, 2-6 loss in the #3 spot. Jarchow's 2-6, 6-4, 7-10 (tiebreak) loss at #4 singles clinched the victory for Juniata, but the Eagles did get a couple of wins to close out the match.
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 at #5 singles and
Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) emerged victorious in the #6 spot by a 6-1, 2-6, 10-8 (tiebreak) score. With the 4-5 loss, UNW falls to 9-2 in 2024.
Northwestern will have Wednesday off before taking on Anderson University out of Indiana at 10:30 AM CT (11:30 AM ET) on Thursday.
