For the first time in program history, MUW’s men’s tennis program hosted an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference South Division match at Garrett Courts on Thursday and walked away with the triumphant feeling of a conference win.
Powered by a sweep in doubles action, the Owls opened league play with a 6-1 victory over visiting Principia College to improve its season record to 6-5 overall and halt a spree of back-to-back losses to change a streak of odd history. The Owls were conferenceless until the 2023-2024 season when they joined the UMAC, and that season the team only won two league games – neither at home. That same trajectory followed to last season where the team won three conference games, all on the road.
The No. 3 doubles tandem of Josh Cooper and Alvaro Bardales opened play with a 6-0 win over Ethan Hoff and Ishmael Ochieng. Then the No. 1 doubles team of Jorge Ortiz and Sandro Giangregorio knocked off Principia’s Jesus Soto Bossa and Alvaro Martin Moliz, 6-2, and the No. 2 doubles squad of Juan Garcia and Marcos Fernandez bested Ernesto Botero and Alfredo Boly, 6-3, to give the team some momentum riding into singles play.
Ortiz continued his winning ways in No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Bossa, Giangregorio won his No. 2 singles match 7-5, 6-3 over Moliz and Garcia took down Hoff 6-0, 6-1 in No. 4 singles. Fernandez kept the Owls momentum alive with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Boly in No. 5 singles, and Bardales swept Ochieng 6-0, 6-0. No. 2 singles was the only match Principia claimed, in which Cooper fell 6-3, 6-1 to Botero.
In women’s tennis, the Owls couldn’t find as much luck and dropped their UMAC South opener 4-3 to the Panthers.
Principia got a 6-0 win in No. 1 doubles and a 7-5 victory in No. 2 doubles to clinch an early point ahead of singles play, where Saray Cisneros routed MUW’s Brooklyn Ward, 6-1, 6-0, early on for the 2-0 lead. The team of Caledonia products Emma Horton and Harley Lowery managed to claim the only doubles win, 7-5 over Amel Lyse Saro Keza and Nina Okike The Owls came roaring back with back-to-back wins in No. 5 and No. 6 singles to tie the game at 2-2. Alania Mathis bested Keza, 6-1, 6-1, for a point, and Horton added a 6-2, 6-0 win for a point.
The tie remained only briefly as the Panthers responded by clinching the win with back-to-back match victories in No. 3 and No. 1 singles. Kayleigh Griffin fell, 6-4, 6-1, and Austin Hayes lost, 6-0, 7-5. Bailey Flynn ended the game on a high note for the Owls by finishing the contest with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Gislove Glokpor in No. 4 singles.
The losses moved the team to 3-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play, a mark the Owls hope to improve on next time out on March 27 at Greenville University.
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