OWATONNA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's tennis team topped Hamline University and Saint John's University in back-to-back Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) matches on Saturday and Sunday at West Hills Tennis and Fitness Center.

St. Olaf (3-3, 3-1 MIAC) started the weekend by defeating Hamline (1-5, 0-2 MIAC) by a 6-3 margin on Saturday before edging Saint John's (1-2, 0-1 MIAC) in a 5-4 affair on Sunday. The victory over the Johnnies on Sunday marked the second season in a row the Oles edged Saint John's by the slimmest of margins.

The Oles will travel to Winona Tennis Center for a 2 p.m. meeting with Saint Mary's University on Sunday, March 16.

St. Olaf 6, Hamline 3 | Box Score

St. Olaf avenged a 5-4 loss to Hamline last season by winning two of the three doubles matches and four of the six singles matches to pick up its second MIAC victory of the season. Junior Bogdan Vizoli, sophomore Marjan Veldic, and sophomore Ryan Birnesser all went 2-0 on the day for the Oles.

In doubles, St. Olaf was a tiebreaker away from a sweep but settled for a 2-1 lead behind wins from the tandems of Vizoli and first year Lou Smith and Veldic/Birnesser. Vizoli and Smith registered an 8-3 victory atop the lineup and Veldic and Birnesser followed with an 8-5 win at the second spot. The Pipers won a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles, however, to avoid the sweep.

After Hamline tied the score at 2-2 with a straight-set win at No. 4 singles, Veldic, first year Madden Vanderwerf, and Birnesser strung together consecutive straight-set victories to get the Oles the five needed points. Veldic posted a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles, Vanderwerf improved to 11-0 this season in singles with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles, and Birnesser provided the clinching point with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at No. 6 singles.

For the second match in a row, Vizoli came back from dropping the first set to win a super tiebreaker, as the junior rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5) victory atop the lineup. Hamline got a super-tiebreaker victory at No. 3 singles in the final match to conclude.

St. Olaf 5, Saint John's 4 | Box Score

For the second time in as many days, St. Olaf was a tiebreaker away from sweeping the three doubles matches but got the singles split it needed after carrying a 2-1 lead into singles. First year Lou Smith provided the clinching victory in a super tiebreaker at No. 3 singles.

St. Olaf got victories from the tandems of Vizoli/Smith and Vanderwerf and classmate Daniel Meunier to get out to a 2-1 lead in doubles. Vizoli and Smith improved to 3-1 in MIAC play with an 8-2 win at the top spot, while Vanderwerf and Meunier logged an 8-3 victory at No. 3 doubles in their second match as a tandem. The Johnnies won a tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles before Vanderwerf and Meunier's win gave the Oles an edge going into singles.

Saint John's tied the team score at 2-2 with a victory at No. 5 singles, but Vanderwerf and Vizoli completed straight-set wins at No. 4 and No. 1 singles in the next two matches to finish to bring St. Olaf within one point of the victory. Vizoli and Vanderwerf moved both to 4-0 in MIAC singles matches, while Vanderwerf remained unbeaten in singles at 12-0 overall.

After the Johnnies stayed alive with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles, Smith locked up the victory for the Oles with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5) win at No. 3 singles to level his MIAC record at 2-2. Saint John's made the final margin 5-4 with a 10-8 super-tiebreaker victory at No. 6 singles.