ST. PAUL, Minn. – Spring is blooming in Minnesota! Due to warmer weather conditions than expected, the University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team was able to compete on its home courts for the first time this season. The men's team battled against Wartburg College. The Knights were able to outlast the Eagles in the contest, as they won 6-1 over UNW.
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Jacob Petrick (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn North) at No. 2 doubles got things started off strong for the Eagles, as they broke the Knights' serve twice in the match, winning 6-2. The Knights struck back against the No. 3 doubles team of
Isaac Thomforde (Crookston, Minn./Crookston) and
Zander Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin), as the duo would fall 1-6. It all came down to No. 1 doubles with
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Sam Majerus (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) fighting to secure the doubles point for the Eagles. Things didn't look too hot as the duo would go down 0-3 early on, but the Eagles fought back to even the match at 4-4. With great shot selection and net play, Haack and Majerus were able to pull ahead with a 6-4 victory.
Starting off at No. 5 singles, Petrick was unable to pull ahead against his opponent and lost 0-6, 2-6. Haack (No. 1) made multiple comebacks through the first and second set of his match, but his opponent held strong as he would fall 4-6, 3-6. The next three of four matches to finish went into deciding ten-point tiebreakers. Starting with Majerus at No. 4 singles, the sophomore won the first set in a late break and dropped second set. Going into the tiebreaker, Majerus matched his opponent point-for-point and saw a match point opportunity at 9-8, but he couldn't convert and would end up losing the next three points, going down 7-5, 4-6, 9-11. Thomforde (No. 3) would once again play a long and difficult match, though he came up short, falling 4-6, 2-6. At No. 6 singles, Carsen Kramer (Faribault, Minn/Faribault) played great tennis as he won the first set, but would soon fall in the second set. Kramer would then lose the ten-point tiebreaker and the match, 7-5, 1-6, 4-10. The last to finish was Jarchow (No. 2), as he fought back from losing the first set to claim the second set and force a tiebreaker. The senior stayed even for a couple points, but the Knights won some great points and Jarchow went down with a 3-6, 6-2, 5-10 loss.
The Eagles will head back to Owatonna for another set of doubleheaders against Ripon College and Buena Vista University on Saturday, March 28th to conclude indoor matches for the season.
