JACKSONVILLE/MONMOUTH, Illinois – The Ripon men's tennis program continued Midwest Conference play on the road on Saturday, falling 7-2 at Illinois College before rebounding to defeat Monmouth 9-0 for the Red Hawks' first conference win of the season.
In the afternoon finale, Monmouth (0-9, 0-4 MWC) had to forfeit a singles and a doubles court due to low numbers, giving Ripon (3-15, 1-3 MWC) an early 2-0 lead. In doubles,
Caleb Sippel and
Austin Stevens won 8-3 on court one, while
Ty Rondestvedt and
Jaden Francis were 8-2 winners on the second line.
Ripon clinched the victory early on in singles as Mooney won for the second time on Saturday, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win on the fifth line. Rondestvedt then added a sixth point for the Red Hawks, winning 6-1, 6-1 on court three.
After winning first sets on courts one, two and four, Sippel was a 6-1, 6-4 winner on court one, Stevens won a tight 6-1, 4-6, (10-4) match on court two and Francis took down his opponent on court four 7-5, 6-1 to finish off the sweep for the Red Hawks.
In the opener, Ripon and Illinois College (7-9, 1-2 MWC) took turns trading momentum during doubles, though the Blueboys claimed all three courts and led 3-0 heading into singles play.
Ripon rallied in singles, however, taking a pair of first sets and forcing a third on court six.
Corey Mooney breezed to a 6-2, 6-0 win on court five to get Ripon on the board and make the score 3-1. Unfortunately, a pair of ensuing straight-set wins for the Blueboys on courts two and three clinched the match for IC.
The Red Hawks continued to battle from there on out. After the Blueboys won court six in three sets,
Caleb Sippel was a 7-6 (5), 6-2 winner on the top line for Ripon's second point. From there, IC won in straight sets on the fourth line to wrap up the match.
NEXT UP: Ripon returns home to face Cornell and Grinnell on Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. respectively to wrap up regular season play.
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