OWATONNA, Minn. - Traveling down to Owatonna for yet another doubleheader, the University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team faced the College of St. Scholastica and Simpson College on Saturday. The men split their matches, losing 1-6 to St. Scholastica and winning 7-0 against Simpson.
Match One: College of St. Scholastica Saints
The No. 3 doubles team of Zander Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) and Caleb Swigart (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) showed strength in its match, winning 6-2. At No. 1 doubles, Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and Sam Majerus (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) were able to hold serve consistently and stand toe-to-toe with the Saints. At 6-5, they broke Scholastica's serve to win the match, 7-5, and secure the doubles point. Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and Jacob Petrick (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn North) had a battle at No. 3 doubles. The pair saw themselves down 0-3 after struggling with overheads early in the match. But after getting through that obstacle, Jarchow and Petrick climbed their way back to get to a tiebreaker at 6-6. The duo saved a match point at 5-6 to claw back and win the match 7-6 (8-6) and sweep doubles.
With the doubles point in hand, the Eagles looked to keep momentum rolling into singles. However, Scholastica proved its consistency in singles with Jarchow losing 1-6, 0-6 at No. 2 singles and Haack (No. 1) falling in a quick 1-6, 1-6 match. Carsen Kramer (Faribault, Minn/Faribault) (No. 3) did his best to rally the team as he kept his match competitive with long and exhausting rallies, but the freshman couldn't keep up with the Saints' ball placement and lost 3-6, 2-6. Swigart (No. 6) also competed hard in his match, but lost 1-6, 1-6. The matches would finish up with Majerus and Petrick working hard to get singles wins on the board, but falling just short, with Majerus losing 4-6, 4-6, and Petrick suffering a 2-6, 4-6 defeat.
Match Two: Simpson College Storm
Heading into the next set of matches, the Eagles were eager to get the ball rolling and get a win on the board for the purple and gold. In doubles, No. 1, 2, and 3 doubles easily cruised in their matches, getting matching 6-1 wins for all positions. The most notable being the No. 3 doubles team of Briely Gunn (Andover, Minn./Homeschool) and Caleb Swigart (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park), where Gunn earned his first collegiate win.
The Eagles wasted no time getting into singles as Kramer showed his consistency, winning 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3. At No. 1, Haack got out to an early lead in both sets against his lefty opponent and won 6-1, 6-2. Jarchow had to fight to break through his No. 2 match after winning the first set handily. The senior went head-to-head with his opponent during the second set, but at 5-5, he came up clutch, breaking his opponent's serve to win his match 6-2, 7-5. Majerus's ball placement was superb as he won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles. Peterson was able to tough out his No. 5 match against Simpson with a 6-2, 6-4 win along with Caleb Jergenson (Livingston, Mont./Park) who won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6.
Up Next
Northwestern will travel to Minneapolis next Saturday, February 28th to face Macalester College at Baseline Tennis Center.
