RIPON, Wisconsin – In an intense match that lasted nearly four hours, the Ripon men's tennis program fell 6-3 to Lawrence on Saturday afternoon inside the Willmore Center in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams.
Ripon (2-13, 0-1 MWC) got things going early in doubles, winning two of three courts.
Clayton Counts and
Caleb Sippel rolled to an 8-1 win on the top court, while
Jaden Francis and
Austin Stevens were next to claim a victory on court two, doing so with an 8-3 win. However, Lawrence (3-7, 1-0 MWC) ended doubles with momentum, roaring back from a big deficit on court three to win the court in a tiebreak as Ripon led 2-1 with singles play yet to come.
In the first flight of singles, Ripon took three first sets, but the Vikings punched back and forced third sets on courts one, two and three. Three-set victories on courts three and one went the way of Lawrence, while Stevens picked up a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 win on court two.
Tied 3-3, Lawrence won the critical three-set match on court four. The Vikings then clinched the match, winning in straight sets on the sixth line.
With the outcome already decided, Lawrence tacked on its fifth singles win, tallying a straight-set victory on court five to round out the afternoon.
NEXT UP: Ripon has a midweek match at Elmhurst on Wednesday (April 3) at 4 p.m.
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