RIPON, Wisconsin – The Ripon men's tennis program split a pair of matches on Senior Day, falling to Illinois College 6-1 before rebounding to defeat Monmouth 6-1 on Saturday inside the Willmore Center.
Illinois College (5-13, 1-2 MWC) won the doubles point in the opener that couldn't have been any closer – the Blueboys first won court three, 7-5, before clinching the doubles point with a 7-6 (2) win on the top line. Court two also went into a tiebreaker, where
Ty Rondestvedt and
Jaden Francis gave Ripon (6-12, 1-2 MWC) momentum heading into singles with a 7-6 (5) win.
The Red Hawks tied the score quickly in singles as
Caleb Sippel cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win on the top line. However, the Blueboys went in front again with a straight-set win on court two, and extended their lead with a straight-set win on court five.
Down 3-1, Ripon kept battling. However, IC rallied for a three-set win on court four to clinch the match. The opposition also won court three in three sets before taking court six in three sets to close out the match.
Ripon rolled Monmouth (0-10, 0-4 MWC) in doubles, taking all three courts and only dropping three total games in the process. Sippel and
Austin Stevens were 6-0 winners on the top line, while Rondestvedt and Francis won their second match of the day with a 6-1 triumph on court two.
Kyle Flook and
Ryan Richter picked up a 6-2 win on court three as Ripon headed to singles play with the early lead.
Sippel breezed to a 6-1, 6-0 win on court one – the junior dropped a total two games in four singles sets on Saturday. Rondestvedt was a 7-5, 6-2 victory on court four while Flook picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win on court five. Stevens battled back for a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 win on court three, and
Ethan Tines tallied Ripon's fourth straight-set win of the day with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court six to close the afternoon.
NEXT UP: Ripon visits Lawrence for a 4 p.m. match on Thursday (April 17).
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