OWATONNA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's tennis team won four super tiebreakers on its way to picking up its first win of the season with an 8-1 victory over Saint Mary's University (Minn.) on Saturday afternoon at West Hills Tennis and Fitness Center.
St. Olaf (1-2, 1-1 MIAC) won super tiebreakers at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6 singles and claimed a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles to claim the win over Saint Mary's (5-10, 0-3 MIAC) in a match that was closer than the 8-1 score indicated. Junior
Henry Smith, senior
Tony Klagge, senior
Tim Roback, and sophomore
Jakub Belik were all victorious in both singles and doubles for the Oles.
In doubles, St. Olaf got off to a strong start by winning all three matches to carry a 3-0 lead into singles play. Smith and sophomore
Max Loesch put the first point on the board by cruising to an 8-1 victory at No. 2 doubles before the other two matches were decided by three games or fewer.
Roback and Klagge won their match at No. 1 doubles in a tiebreaker, taking the tiebreaker by a 7-4 score to make it 2-0. Belik and sophomore
Jerusalem Thao completed the sweep with an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles in their first match as a tandem this season.
In singles, Belik led his opponent 6-3, 3-0 before his opponent was forced to retire and Smith followed with a 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) win at the top spot for his first win of the season to give St. Olaf its clinching fifth point. In his first match in the lineup this season sophomore
Ben Anderson came back from a set down to record a 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3) victory at No. 6 singles.
With the match already decided, Klagge and Roback both won their matches in super tiebreakers at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, to claim their first wins of the young season. Klagge edged Josh Janssen by a 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7) score line at No. 2 singles before Roback outlasted E.J. Hietala 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 1-0 (11-9) at No. 3 singles.
St. Olaf is slated to host Saint John's in its first outdoor match of the season on Saturday, March 19 at 1:30 p.m., weather permitting.