OWATONNA, Minnesota – The Ripon men's tennis program played its final matches before spring break on Saturday, falling to both St. Scholastica and Northwestern (Minn.) at the Owatonna Tennis, Pickleball and Fitness Center.
Ripon (1-12) was beaten 7-2 by St. Scholastica (4-4) and 9-0 by Northwestern (8-0).
In the opener, the Saints pulled ahead early with three quick wins across each of the doubles courts to lead 3-0 with singles play to go.
CSS tacked on another in singles, winning court two to go up 4-0.
Ripon punched back, however.
Caleb Sippel won 6-2, 7-6 on the top line to give Ripon its first point of the day. Unfortunately, the Saints won a three-set battle on court three moments later to clinch the match.
Corey Mooney was a 6-3, 6-3 winner on the fifth line, but CSS defeated the Red Hawks on four and six to finish out the match.
Against the Eagles in the nightcap, UNW took a 3-0 lead after doubles, dropping just eight total games in the process. In singles, Sippel lost a tight third-set bout while UNW won court two soon after to clinch its victory. UNW victories on courts three, four, five and six followed to close out the evening.
NEXT UP: Ripon has almost three weeks off before hosting Dubuque on Wednesday (March 20) at 2 p.m. inside the Willmore Center for Senior Day.
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