COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Despite being rained out of outdoor play, the University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team was still able to compete on Saturday against Saint John's University inside the Johnnies' McNeely Spectrum. The Eagles were able to pull out the win against SJU, gutting out a 4-3 victory. This is Northwestern's first victory in program history against the Johnnies.
Getting the ball rolling in doubles was Caleb Swigart (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and Zander Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) at No. 3, who were strong in their 6-2 win. At No. 1 doubles, Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and Sam Majerus (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) slowly adjusted to the indoor surface and were able to make a comeback in the match to secure a 6-4 win, and the doubles point for the Eagles. Finishing doubles at the No. 2 position, Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne) and Jacob Petrick (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn North) did their best to launch a comeback from being down 1-4, but came up short, falling 4-6.
Haack (No. 1) continued the momentum from doubles into singles as he won with a dominant, 6-2, 6-1 victory. Things suddenly changed momentum-wise for the Eagles, as the Johnnies went on huge runs from the No. 2-4 singles positions. First off was Peterson at No. 4 singles, who faced an incredibly consistent opponent that was firing on all cylinders; Peterson would fall 1-6, 5-7. At No. 3 singles, Majerus won the first set, but fell in the second, leading to a third set, ten-point tiebreaker. Majerus kept the match close after two changeovers, but the Johnnies kept their lead ahead as Majerus lost the match 6-4, 2-6, 7-10. At No. 2 singles, Jarchow forced a seven-point tiebreaker in the first set but fell quick and wound up losing with a score of 6-7 (1-7), 3-6.
Now down 2-3, the Eagles needed No. 5 and No. 6 singles to secure their first ever win against the Johnnies. Thankfully, Isaac Thomforde (Crookston, Minn./Crookston) (No. 5) was in his groove once again. Playing his best tennis this season, the sophomore got an important, 6-3, 6-3 win. With the team score at 3-3, it all came down to Carsen Kramer (Faribault, Minn/Faribault) at No. 6 singles. Kramer went into a seven-point tiebreaker in the first set and prevailed. In the second set, Kramer established a 4-1 lead and didn't look back, as he secured the victory for the Eagles with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 score. As a result, the Eagles' secured its first victory against Saint John's in program history.
Northwestern will return home to Johnson Tennis Complex on Friday, April 17th for its first UMAC conference match against Bethany Lutheran College, at 6:00 PM.
