PELLA, Iowa – The University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team was back in action for the first time after its annual Florida spring break trip, and it was apparent the Eagles did not bring the Florida weather back with them. A Thursday snowfall and below-freezing temperatures forced Northwestern's two Saturday matches in the state of Iowa indoors, and they had to pivot to play them in different cities as well. UNW was able to earn a 9-0 sweep over Simpson College to begin the day before falling 3-6 to Central College in the afternoon finale.
Match One: Simpson College Storm
Northwestern began its day bright and early at Drake University's Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines, where the Simpson Storm awaited them. Even before the first serve, the Eagles held an advantage as Simpson had to forfeit the #3 doubles and #6 singles matches due to only having five players available. UNW certainly didn't leave any doubt regardless, as
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) kicked things off with an 8-0 win at #2 doubles.
Stewart Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) and
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) followed suit with an 8-4, #1 doubles win and the Eagles were off and running (or flying, if you will).
Singles matches brought about more success for the purple and gold.
Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) was first off, bringing home a 6-0, 6-2 win at #6 singles.
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne), apparently quite fresh from not having a doubles opponent, rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win in the #4 spot. Next off were Weddle, a 6-2, 6-1 winner at #2, and Morrell, a 6-1, 6-4 winner at #1. Haack completed the 9-0 sweep with a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the #3 spot.
Match Two: Central College Dutch
Following the win in Des Moines, the Eagles set out for Pella, Iowa, home of the Central College Dutch. Match two of the day didn't quite go as well as the opener, as the Eagles fell behind early.
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Eli Henderson (Andover, Minn/Andover) came up short at #3 doubles, 2-8 to open the scoring. Following that were a pair of 4-8 losses in the other two doubles matches.
Stewart Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) and
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) lost in the #1 match while
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) fell at #2 doubles. Heading into singles play, Northwestern found itself in a 0-3 hole.
Things didn't immediately improve for UNW as singles matches began.
Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) lost 0-6, 1-6 at #6 singles, and a 4-6, 2-6 loss for Rupp at #5 singles gave the Dutch a 5-0 win and clinched the win for the home team. The Eagles finally got on the board via a 6-3, 6-3 win for Morrell at #1 singles, then added another point thanks to Jarchow's 7-6, 2-6, 10-8 win in the #4 spot. Weddle dropped his #2 singles match 3-6, 1-6, but Northwestern closed out the match on a high note with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 10-1 win from Haack at #3 singles. Ultimately, it went down as a 3-6 loss for UNW.
The Saturday split brought Northwestern's record to 11-4 on the season. Next up for the Eagles will be their UMAC opener at Crown College on Friday, April 5
th.
