OWATONNA, Minn. – In a match between two teams vying for spots in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs, the St. Olaf College men's tennis team topped Macalester College, 6-1, on Sunday evening at West Hills Tennis and Fitness Center.
St. Olaf (8-8, 4-3 MIAC) won a tiebreak at No. 2 doubles to take the lead and went on to win five of the six singles matches to down Macalester (6-6, 2-3 MIAC). The victory was the Oles' second in a row in the series after the Scots won nine in a row from 2016-24.
Junior
Marjan Veldic and sophomore
Madden Vanderwerf gave St. Olaf the doubles point by winning a tiebreak, 8-6, at No. 2 doubles to move to 3-1 in MIAC play as a tandem. Their win came after Macalester's 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles offset a 6-3 triumph at No. 3 doubles by sophomores
Daniel Meunier and
Mason Ramirez.
All St. Olaf needed in singles was a split of the six matches, but the Oles were victorious at every spot other than No. 1 singles. Sophomore
Jacob Schultz finished off a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles before the Scots got a straight-sets victory at No. 1 singles to make the score 2-1.
After taking the first set in a tiebreak, junior
Cathal Mee cruised in the second set of a 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 win at No. 6 singles before sophomores
Lou Smith recorded his team-best 11th singles win of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles to clinch the team victory.
Veldic snapped a five-match skid by winning two close sets at No. 3 singles, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. In the lone match of the evening to go to a super tiebreak, Vanderwerf won a second-set tiebreak and the super tiebreak to claim a 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (10-7) comeback victory at No. 4 singles.
St. Olaf will host Bethel University in its first match of the spring at Carlson Courts on Wednesday, April 22 at 4 p.m.
