OWATONNA, Minn. - Thanks to a little help from a conference rival, Saturday turned into an historic day for the University of Northwestern Men's Tennis team. After a last-minute location change to the dry confines of Owatonna, the Eagles rolled to a pair of conference sweeps over Martin Luther College and Crown College to finish the UMAC slate 3-1. In Mankato, the University of Wisconsin-Superior's 4-3 win over Bethany Lutheran College meant the three teams finished the regular season tied atop the conference's North Division standings, and are crowned tri-champions. This marks the first regular season conference championship in Northwestern Men's Tennis history, although the Eagles have won the UMAC Tournament twice (2011, 2018).
Match One: Martin Luther College Knights
UNW began its day of absolute perfection by sweeping the doubles matches against Martin Luther. The No. 3 team of
Zander Peterson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) and
Caleb Swigart (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) got the party started with a 6-1 win, and the No. 2 squad (
Griffen Jarchow (Luverne, Minn./Luverne),
Jacob Petrick (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn North)) followed suit with a 6-2 victory to clinch the opening point.
Carson Haack (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) and
Sam Majerus (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) took a little bit more time to wrap up the No. 1 match, but did so in 6-4 fashion.
The good times continued for Northwestern in singles play, with Majerus (No. 3) and Peterson (No. 6) winning by 6-0, 6-1 scores.
Isaac Thomforde (Crookston, Minn./Crookston) took care of business at No. 4 singles with a 6-1, 6-2 win, while Haack prevailed with a 6-0, 6-4 victory at No. 1. In the No. 2 match, Jarchow defeated his opponent 6-2, 6-3, and
Carsen Kramer (Faribault, Minn/Faribault) closed out the 7-0 sweep with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph in the No. 5 spot.
Match Two: Crown College Polars
With one more match separating the Eagles and a share of its first-ever regular season conference championship, the boys in purple and gold understood the assignment. Peterson and Swigart were lights-out once again, cruising to a 6-0 sweep at No. 3 doubles, while Haack and Majerus secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win in the No. 1 match. At No. 2, Jarchow and Petrick continued the perfect day with a 6-4 win.
The bottom of UNW's lineup played like all-stars, as freshmen Kramer and Peterson rolled to 6-0, 6-0 sweeps at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Thomforde barely missed sweeping his No. 4 match, ultimately winning 6-1, 6-0, while Haack cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1. At No. 3 singles, Majerus came away with a 6-3, 6-0 victory, and Jarchow's 6-1, 6-4 win in the No. 2 match made it a perfect, 18-0 day for the UNW men as they once again won 7-0 to wrap up conference play.
Up Next
Despite sharing the North Division crown, the Eagles have not yet secured a spot in next week's UMAC Tournament. Due to a three-way tie atop the standings and only two tournament berths per division, Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran will go to battle in a winner-take-all, play-in match on Monday in Mankato.
