Ripon Opens Season By Splitting Pair of Matches

Box Score vs. Simpson College
Box Score vs. Bethany Lutheran

Owatonna, Minn. - Ripon's men's tennis team opened up their 2014 season Saturday afternoon with a pair of matches that ended in identical 5-4 scores. The Red Hawks lost the first to Simpson College, but rebounded with a win over Bethany Lutheran in the nightcap.

Against Simpson (2-2), Ripon (1-1) excelled in doubles play, winning two of the three flights. Their number two team of Ryan Slowinski and Brian Schumacher won 8-6, while Tyler Hopewell and Anders Goodwin teamed up to win 8-2 at the number three flight. The Red Hawks almost made it a clean sweep, but the top team of Eric Seiler and Ryan Long were narrowly edged by a score of 8-6.

In singles play, Hopewell won at the fifth flight, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), while Lincoln Wurtz won at the sixth flight, 6-0, 6-0, in what was his first collegiate tennis match. Three of Ripon's four losses in singles play went the full three sets.

The Red Hawks followed that up with a 5-4 victory in which they won one doubles match and four singles matches. In doubles play, Seiler and Long won their top flight, 8-6.

In singles play, Seiler won his number one match, 6-1, 6-1, while Long and Slowinski won their second and third flight matches, 6-1, 6-1 and 7-5, 6-1, respectively. Freshman Jeffrey Grinde added a win at the number five flight, 6-1, 6-4, in what was his first collegiate match.

Ripon will be in action again on Sunday, as they'll face the College of St. Scholastica and Carleton College at 9 a.m. and Noon, respectively.

Print Friendly Version