ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team took a trip down to Florida for its annual Spring Break trip that will be full of matchups all week long. In Monday's doubleheader, the Eagles fell 3-4 to Cornell College and 2-5 to Emerson College.
Match One: Cornell College Rams
Doubles was a battle for all matches against Cornell.
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Sam Majerus (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) kept their match tight and held strong. At 5-4, the No. 1 duo faced a deuce point and match point but couldn't capitalize on it. The following two games went down a similar path, with both games facing deuce points. Luckily, the Eagles kept the consistency up and finished the match with a 7-5 win.
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and
Jacob Petrick (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn North), at No. 2 doubles, were able to get a solid lead up 5-2, but the Rams fought back to even the score at 5-5. The match went into a tiebreaker at 6-6. Jarchow and Petrick faced a match point at 5-6, but the duo saved it and would continue battling to win 10-8 in a thrilling match, securing the doubles point for Northwestern.
Isaac Thomforde (Crookston, Minn./Crookston) and
Caleb Swigart (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park), at No. 3 doubles, also fought hard in their match as they went into a tiebreaker as well. The match stayed even until the Rams put up some good points and the Eagles lost 7-5.
With the doubles point in hand, it was up to the Eagles to try and hold strong in singles. Haack, at No. 1 singles, went out firing in his match, securing a quick 6-2, 6-3 win against another power hitter. Majerus (No. 4) would fall soon after with a score of 1-6, 2-6. At No. 3 singles, Jarchow battled throughout his match, trying to find opportunities, but few came as his opponent became a wall and wouldn't let any ball pass him. Jarchow would end up losing 4-6, 5-7. Petrick (No. 6) helped the Eagles gain momentum as he pulled out a 6-2, 6-4 win to put the Eagles up 3-2 in the match.
Zander Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) at No. 5 singles was unable to pull through as he would lose 3-6, 5-7, meaning it all came down to
Carsen Kramer (Faribault, Minn/Faribault) at No. 3 singles. The freshman would fall just short in the first set, but battled back in the second to even the match at one set apiece and force a ten-point tiebreaker. The head-to-head matchup saw the Rams pull ahead, and Kramer lost 5-10, giving the Rams a 4-3 victory.
Match Two: Emerson College Lions
Going into the second match against Emerson, the Eagles brought the energy on the collegiate courts at the USTA National Campus as they battled in doubles. Jarchow and Petrick, at No. 2 doubles, won great points and fought to get a good, 6-1 win. At No. 1 doubles, Haack and Majerus were unable to match their opponents and fell 2-6. It all came down to No. 3 doubles with Swigart and Thomforde. The duo took a 5-2 lead, but wound up conceding two games, leaving the Lions serving to stay in the match. The Eagles had two match-point opportunities at 5-4 and capitalized on a double-fault at deuce point, winning 6-4 and securing the doubles point.
The Eagles' fighting hopes continued into singles as they built off their doubles performance. Jarchow (No. 2) improved tremendously from his first singles match of the day, but unfortunately couldn't get the job done and lost 3-6, 1-6. Peterson (No. 6) was able to get UNW on the board in singles with a dominant, 6-1, 6-2 win. At No. 1 singles, Haack and his opponent traded blow-for-blow as the match went the to the Lions, 4-6, 5-7. Petrick (No. 5) battled and sweated hard to stay in his match after losing the first set, but continued to fight in the second after being down 2-5 and made it 4-5. Petrick ultimately couldn't break through and fell 1-6, 4-6. Kramer (No. 3) saw a similar situation in his match as he was down early in the first set, but fought to get to 5-4. The Lions' serve and power hitting game proved too much, however, as Kramer would lose the first set and drop the second for a 5-7, 3-6 defeat. Last up and back in the singles lineup was Thomforde at No. 4 singles. Thomforde would face a difficult mental battle in his match as he succumbed to a 3-6, 4-6 loss.
Up Next
The Eagles face Calvin University Tuesday at 5:30 PM (6:30 PM ET) at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
