This past week, the St. Olaf men’s and women’s tennis teams faced off against regional rivals Carleton College and Gustavus Adolphus College. Despite several valiant efforts on the part of the Oles, the opponents swept both teams. Now, with postseason play approaching, they must right the ship.
On Wednesday, April 15, the men went up against Carleton and, despite a few bright spots in the matchup, were largely outmatched. The contest ended with a 2-7 loss for the Oles. The men’s team was swept in all singles matchups, with the only close singles sets being between sophomore Christian Beck ’18 and Jordan O’Kelly of Carleton, and Keenan Gladd-Brown ’16 and Ezra Frankel of Carleton.
The doubles matches proved to be a much better outcome for the Oles as they came out on top in two out of three matchups. Danny Hogan ’18 and Beck defeated their opponents 8-5, while Mike Schroeder ’16 and Gladd-Brown overcame their opponents with an 8-4 win.
Wednesday’s matchup leaves the Oles with a 7-5 overall record and a 2-3 MIAC record. The men’s team will be on the road again this Friday to face Hamline University. The men will face Macalester College and Bethel University soon afterward.
The women’s team, despite several very close matches, suffered an 1-8 loss to Gustavus Adolphus. Several standout performances, perhaps poorly captured by the final score, included the three sets played by Lisa Hall ’16 against Michaela Schulz as well as Maya McGibbon ’16 falling in two close sets. The single win of the day came from Margaret Zimmerman ’18, who won handily against Lizzy Stancyzk of Gustavus. The victory for Gustavus leaves them undefeated within the MIAC conference and puts them ahead of the second place Oles.
The Ole women stand now at an overall 7-3 record with 5-2 within the MIAC conference. Like the men, the women will also be travel to Hamline University and then round out their season with games against the University of St. Thomas and Bethel University. The MIAC playoff will follow in several weeks.
