Men’s tennis upset at Minnesota
After beating 49th-ranked Texas Christian University for only the third time since 1980 and defeating unranked University of Wisconsin 4-2 on the road, the men’s tennis team appeared to be returning to its early season form. However, the 33rd-ranked Owls lost momentum April 10, when they fell to 55th-ranked University of Minnesota 3-4.
‘[Minnesota] had three starters out against Wisconsin on Friday in a loss, they had two starters out against Northwestern and lost, and for some reason they put all of them in against us,’ head coach Ron Smarr said. ‘We didn’t play well at either No. 2 or No. 3 doubles.’
The Owls look to rebound against 39th-ranked University of Texas today. The Longhorns have played a difficult schedule, losing to four teams currently ranked in the top five this spring.
‘[Texas] has lost a lot of close matches,’ Smarr said. ‘They are kind of … inconsistent like us.’
Junior Robert Searle and sophomore Ben Harknett will face a second consecutive ranked foe when they play UT’s 50th-ranked Callum Beale and Travis Helgeson today.
‘We definitely look forward to playing doubles [together],’ Harknett said. ‘We’ve got great chemistry on the court. … I think the team looks to us to come out with a win, and it’s good to have the expectations upon you.’
Smarr said he thinks the Minnesota match hurt the Owls’ chances to be the second seed at an NCAA regional.
‘[Minnesota was] better than [their ranking] because they had missed those players [in prior matches],’ Smarr said. ‘If we win and take care of business, we will be a two seed, but if we don’t, we could be sitting at home.’
After today’s match, the Owls will return home for crucial matches against 46th-ranked Western Athletic Conference foe Southern Methodist University and Abilene Christian University, ranked 12th in Division II.
‘We are going to have to play our best at Texas, [but] I think we are very capable,’ Smarr said.
Doubles play has been crucial for the Owls this year, as they have won just one match when losing the doubles point. Against Minnesota, the 33rd-ranked pair of Searle and Harknett fell to 36th-ranked Avery Ticer and Adrien Debreyne 8-5 at the top doubles spot.
With junior Tony Haerle not traveling to Minnesota due to illness, sophomore Jason Mok and senior Take Morita were moved up to the No. 2 doubles position and lost, giving Minnesota the doubles point and the early dual-match lead.
‘When you take the number two player out of any team in the country, it will weaken your singles and doubles,’ Smarr said. ‘If we [had] had Tony in the lineup, we’d have won two and three doubles for sure.’
In singles, Harknett — moved to No. 2 in Haerle’s absence — won a difficult three-set match over D.J. Geatz 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Jason Mok netted a straight-set win at the fourth position, prevailing 6-3, 6-2 over Nic Edlefsen.
Junior Rodrigo Gabriel continued his stellar play at the sixth spot with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Brian Lipinski. Zivojinovic and Knupfer lost at the third and fifth positions, respectively, so the match was tied at three points apiece — leaving the match at the top singles spot, between 25th-ranked Searle and 34th-ranked Ticer, to decide the dual match.
Searle, who had received his second WAC player of the week honor of the season the previous week, took the first set 6-4. Searle served for the match in the second set, but he was unable to convert, allowing Ticer to come back and win the set 7-5. Ticer eventually won the match with a 6-4 victory in the deciding third set.
Despite losing the doubles point to Minnesota, Smarr said he thinks that the team’s weakness still lies in singles.
‘Our consistency in singles has been our killer,’ Smarr said. ‘When you lose three points [in a dual match], it’s not just one person, it’s a bunch of people being inconsistent.’ The Owls’ singles play was shaky even in their win over Wisconsin. Five of the six singles matches went to three sets, including Searle’s first dual-match singles loss since losing to Mat Cloer of Florida State University Feb. 19.
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