ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team was on its second day of matches in Orlando, Florida for its annual Spring Break trip; this time, looking to find some momentum against Calvin University. The Eagles were able to raise the level of play throughout the lineup, seeing many improvements from each individual player; however, the Eagles would fall 0-7 to Calvin.
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Sam Majerus (River Falls, Wis./River Falls), at No. 1 doubles, kept the match tight early on, but fell 3-6. At No. 3 doubles,
Caleb Swigart (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and
Isaac Thomforde (Crookston, Minn./Crookston) also fell short due to the Knights' net play, losing 2-6. Rounding out doubles,
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Jacob Petrick (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn North), at No. 3, fought hard to stay alive as the match would go into a tiebreaker at 6-6. The Knights took an early lead in the tiebreaker and the Eagles lost 6-7 (3-7 tiebreaker).
Despite Calvin's rock-solid lineup in singles, the Eagles rose the level in their matches.
Carsen Kramer (Faribault, Minn/Faribault) (No. 3) took the first blow as he suffered a 1-6, 0-6 defeat. Jarchow (No. 2) would also fall soon after with a score of 3-6, 0-6. At No. 4 singles, Thomforde played a gutsy match, giving all that he had, but he too lost 1-6, 2-6. Petrick (No. 5) tried to get the Eagles on the board, but the Knights continued their dominance in singles, as Petrick lost 3-6, 1-6.
Zander Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin), at No. 6 singles, was able to adjust well to his serve-and-volley opponent in the match. Despite this, Peterson would fall short, 4-6, 5-7. Finishing out the lineup at No. 1 singles, Haack played the best match of his career, as he matched his opponent on all fronts and let few opportunities slip by. Unfortunately, with Calvin's high-level consistency, Haack would fall 5-7, 6-7 (3-7 tiebreaker).
The Eagles will have a day to rest before facing Albion College on Thursday at 10:30 AM (11:30 AM ET) at Oak Street Park in Kissimmee.
