NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Saturday was the final day of the regular season and the final day of a five match in five days stretch for the University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team, who had the luxury of already having secured its spot in next weekend's UMAC Men's Tennis Tournament. Northwestern spent its final match day before the postseason double-dipping road matches versus Martin Luther College and St. Olaf College. The Eagles began the day with a 9-0 sweep of the Knights before hitting the road to Northfield, where they lost 2-7 to the Oles.
Match One: Martin Luther College Knights
First up was the final conference match of the season for UNW, against a Martin Luther team it swept earlier in the season in a non-conference contest. Despite playing without top player
Stewart Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool), the Eagles were still able to take care of business.
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) kicked things off with an 8-0 sweep in the #2 doubles match, then
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) and
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) stayed unbeaten together at #1 doubles, winning 8-1.
Ben Schutz (Maplewood, Minn./Homeschool) and
Eli Henderson (Andover, Minn/Andover) matched that effort with an 8-1 win at #3 doubles to give Northwestern a 3-0 advantage entering singles play.
Weddle remained undefeated in limited action at #1 singles this season, winning 6-1, 6-0. Rupp won his #4 match 6-1, 6-3, then Jarchow brought home a 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) win at #3. Next off was Haack, a 6-2, 6-4 winner at #2 singles, before Schutz turned in a 6-2, 7-5 win in the #5 spot.
Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) capped off the 9-0 sweep with a 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 10-7 win in the #6 singles match. The Eagles closed out the conference season 3-1.
Match Two: St. Olaf College Oles
After the dominant win in New Ulm, Northwestern made the drive east to Northfield to take on St. Olaf in an early evening match. The results did not fall in UNW's favor this time.
Ben Schutz (Maplewood, Minn./Homeschool) and
Eli Henderson (Andover, Minn/Andover) lost 2-8 in the #3 doubles match before the other two teams each lost 6-8.
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) and
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) teamed up at #1 doubles, while
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Darin Rupp (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) formed the #2 team.
The ball continued to bounce St. Olaf's way as singles play began. Schutz lost 3-6, 1-6 at #5 singles, then Haack fell 4-6, 2-6 in the #2 match to officially give the Oles the team win. Jarchow came up short at #3 singles, 4-6, 3-6, but after falling behind 6-0, things did end on a high note for UNW. Rupp won 3-6, 6-0, 10-8 at #5 singles, then
Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) earned a 6-1, 1-6, 12-10 victory at #6. Weddle fell in the final match of the day at #1 singles, 4-6, 5-7
Up Next
It's tourney time for the UNW men, who earned the North Division two seed in the UMAC Men's Tennis Tournament, set to begin Friday, May 3
rd in St. Louis. The 18-10 Eagles will face South Division champion Principia College in Friday's semifinal, scheduled for 4:00 PM. If the matches were to be moved indoors, the start time would shift to 3:00 PM. For more coverage, stay tuned to unweagles.com and follow @unwtennis on social media.
