GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University men's tennis team saw its season come to an end with a 4-3 defeat to Hope College in the MIAA Tournament semifinal on Wednesday inside the Huizenga Tennis & Track Center.
The match, which was moved indoors due to inclement weather, looked to be going the way of Hope (12-7) early in doubles, but a strong Calvin (8-9) comeback in the final two doubles contests gave the Knights the 1-0 lead.
The Flying Dutchmen started with a 6-0 win in the two-doubles spot while the Calvin one-doubles team of
Rodrigo Alipio (Santos, São Paulo, Brazil/COC Universitario) and Mario Neto (Boa Vista, Brazil/Reino) trailed 0-3 and the three-doubles team of
Caleb Bartels (Loch Lloyd, Mo./Kansas City Christian) and
Tanner Warners (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) trailed 1-4.
Needing to win both matches for the doubles point, the Knights came back to win the three-doubles match 7-5, and the one-doubles team followed with a 7-5 win of its own to give the Knights the early 1-0 lead.
In singles,
Felipe Sartori (Estr. Basiléia/Colégio Giusto Zonzini) won his match in the third spot of the order 6-3, 6-2, and
Diego Castellanos (Tarija, Bolivia/La Salle Tarija) answered a Hope win in the one-singles spot with a three-set win by the scores of 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 to give the Knights a 3-1 lead.
All eyes turned to the two-singles match, where Bartels rallied from losing the first set 3-6 to win the second set 6-1 and force a third set. That third set went to a tiebreaker tied 6-6, where Bartels fell 8-6 to give the Flying Dutch their second point.
Hope continued that momentum into the final two matches, winning in the five and six spots in the lineup in straight sets to complete the comeback.
