SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Calvin University men's tennis team saw its first-match winning streak come to an end in a 4-3 defeat at Lawrence Tech on Friday.
Calvin (6-7) battled through injuries against the tough team from Lawrence Tech (4-10), but came up just short as the Blue Devils won four of the six singles matches to secure the win.
The Knights starting strong with a sweep of doubles play to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The one-doubles team of
Rodrigo Alipio (Santos, São Paulo, Brazil/COC Universitario) and Mario Neto (Boa Vista, Brazil/Reino) won in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4). The two-doubles team of
Felipe Sartori (Estr. Basiléia/Colégio Giusto Zonzini) (6-2, 6-0) and
Diego Castellanos (Tarija, Bolivia/La Salle Tarija) won 7-5, while the three-doubles duo of
Tanner Warners (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and
Caleb Bartels (Loch Lloyd, Mo./Kansas City Christian) won 6-4 to complete the sweep.
In singles, the Knights won straight sets wins in the one and three spots thanks to Bartels (6-4, 6-2) and Castellanos (7-5, 6-4), but the Blue Devils won three matches in the two, four and five slots to tie the match at 3-3.
In six-singles,
Emmanuel Henao (Medellin, Columbia/Escuela Normal Superior "La Merced") battled back from a first-set defeat to force a tiebreaker third set, but ultimately fell 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4).
NEXT UP: Calvin men's tennis will return to action on Wednesday, April 22, when it hosts Adrian College in a match scheduled to start at 4:00 PM.
