RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College men's tennis program (4-22, 0-6 MWC) suffered a pair of conference losses this week, falling to Illinois College (12-8, 3-3 MWC) and Monmouth College (2-11, 1-5 MWC) on the road. Senior Caleb Sippel (Appleton, Wis., Appleton North HS) continued his string of solid performances at one singles, picking up two wins on the day. 

The first match of the day saw Ripon drop the doubles point to the Blueboys 0-3, with Sippel and partner Austin Stevens (Mukwonago, Wis., Mukwonago HS) staying within a break at the top flight, but finishing 4-6 in the closest match of the three. Singles was a straight forward affair save for Sippel, with the Red Hawks blanked at the 2-5 flights. At one, after taking the first set in a tiebreak, Sippel struggled to hold serve en route to a 1-6 second set, looking to compose himself for the deciding super tiebreak. Closing the match with solid all-around court coverage, Sippel converted clutch points to capture the 10-7 win. 

The second match had the Fighting Scots also come out strong, taking the doubles point from Ripon also with three straight wins. At two doubles, tandem Kyle Flook (Sheboygan, Wis., Sheboygan South HS) and Ryan Richter (Plainfield, Ill., Plainfield Central HS) had signs of life as the set went deep, but came up short in a 5-7 loss. The point proved crucial as singles got underway, with the Red Hawks falling at 2, 5, and 6 in straight sets to drop the match. Sippel and three singles Corey Mooney (Greenfield, Wis., Greenfield HS) put together clean wins, taking down their opponents in straight sets, while Flook went the distance at four singles after dropping the first set, winning 10-8 in the third to give the Red Hawks a third point. It would prove too little too late, however, as Ripon took a 3-4 loss. 

Ripon men's tennis returns to action next weekend, April 25, for the Midwest Conference Individual Tournament, held in Madison, Wis. Draws for the tournament will be released later this week.