WACONIA, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team opened up UMAC play on Friday after a nearly two-week hiatus. Northwestern, who was picked as the preseason runner-up in the conference, turned in an impressive effort under sunny skies in Waconia and took down Crown College by a 9-0 margin to improve to 12-4 overall on the season.
Unsurprisingly, UNW's #1 doubles team of
Stewart Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Homeschool) and
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) took care of business to get things started, winning 8-3.
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Darin Rupp's (Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) 8-2 win at #2 doubles was the largest margin of doubles play, while
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Eli Henderson (Andover, Minn/Andover) won at #3 doubles by an 8-4 score.
Northwestern's strong play continued into singles matches as Weddle turned in a 6-1, 6-0 win in the #2 slot. Morrell took home a 6-2, 6-1 win at #1 singles, while Jarchow earned a 6-0, 6-0 sweep at #4. Haack was dominant at #3 singles, winning 6-1, 6-0, but his doubles partner got the best of him, as Rupp rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 sweep in the #5 spot.
Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) put an exclamation point on the outstanding day for the UNW men, winning 6-3, 6-1 at #6 singles to seal the 9-0 victory.
The Eagles will have a quick turnaround before taking on a pair of non-conference opponents in Wisconsin on Saturday. UNW will square off with Wartburg at 1:00 PM before taking on the hosts of the triangular, UW-La Crosse, at 4:00 PM.
