GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin men's tennis team punched its ticket to next week's four-team MIAA Tournament with a 9-0 win over Alma. The Knights move to 11-7 overall and finish the MIAA regular season at 4-3.
The Knights will be the No. 4 seed for next week's MIAA Tournament with Trine the No. 3 seed, Hope the No. 2 seed and Kalamazoo the No. 1 seed.
Tuesday's match was played outdoors at the Strikwerda Tennis Courts on a cold, windy afternoon but the Knights were able to fight through the elements.
With a roster featuring seven sophomores and two freshmen, the Knights punched their ticket by sweeping all three doubles flights and rolling to six singles wins against the visiting Scots.
In doubles action, sophomore Isaac Jeong (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) and Adam Zentner (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) claimed an 8-3 win. The Knights then dug down to win tight matches at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
Freshman Stuart Johnston (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) and sophomore Jared Berghorst (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville HS) claimed an 8-7 win at No. 2 doubles, winning 7-3 in the tiebreaker. Sophomore Harrison Sindelar (Westfield, Ind./Westfield HS) and sophomore Jace DeShetler (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian HS) were 8-6 winners at No. 3 doubles.
In singles action, Sindelar rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win over Caleb Schuring at No. 1 singles. Zentner dropped August Sack 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 singles while Johnston defeated Thomas Manko 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
Sophomore Joseph Hong (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian HS) picked up a 6-0, 6-2 win over Walker Michaels at No. 4 singles. Berghorst downed Brendan Murdie 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 singles. DeShetler toppled Noah Festerling 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
COACHES COMMENT: "I'm really pleased with this group," said Calvin head tennis coach John Ross. "For a group of freshmen and sophomores to pull together and reach the MIAA Tournament is a nice accomplishment and a credit to them. I thought that today, we did a good job of remaining mentally focused despite the (weather) elements. We also pulled out two tough doubles matches and kept up the intensity in singles. A good day of tennis for the Knights!"
NEXT UP: Calvin will face the top seed in next week's MIAA Tournament with tournament information set to be announced later this week.
