by Eric Willuweit
Jackson, Wis. - The Illinois Tech men's tennis team's streak of conference championships came to an end Sunday in Jackson, Wisconsin, as the Scarlet Hawks fell to MSOE 5-3 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's tennis championship.
The Scarlet Hawks had won the three previous conference titles, and with it the automatic berth into the NCAA Division III men's tennis championships. But the Raiders bested the Scarlet Hawks again, jumping out to a 2-1 lead after doubles play, and taking three of the five completed singles matches. Despite earning the number one seed in the post-season tournament, the Scarlet Hawks could not get past an MSOE squad that was Illinois Tech's only loss during conference play. The Scarlet Hawks finished the season 9-13 overall. MSOE earned the conference's automatic NCAA bid.
"Sometimes you're the hammer and sometimes you're the nail. It's a tough loss but necessary" said Head Coach Kris Powell. "Championships are won in the off-season. Hopefully this can motivate us more moving forward until next year. The NACC is getting tougher so we must become stronger and more enthusiastic about winning. Next year we will be better prepared" Powell concluded.
Doubles Play (MSOE 2 - Illinois Tech 1)
MSOE was able to claim the first two doubles matches of the championship. The number two pairing of Jachym Smid and Joe Chong defeated the Illinois Tech pairing of Huy Ngo and Nabil Fawaz 8-6. The Raiders' number one pair of Miguel Lopez and Clark Rue took down Alann Torres and Jordan Lauer 8-4. The Scarlet Hawks were able to claim the number three doubles match with Rodrigo Casado and Davis Housman defeating Josh Fay and Alex Nakasato, 8-6.
Singles Play (MSOE 3 - Illinois Tech 2)
The Scarlet Hawks opened singles play by winning the first two matches to take a 3-2 overall match lead. Torres defeated MSOE's Joe Chong 6-2, 6-1 in the number one singles match, followed by Ngo defeating the Raiders' Emilio Ulloa 6-0, 6-4. But MSOE would rebound to win the next three completed matches to get the five overall match wins necessary for victory. MSOE's Smid defeated Illinois Tech's Danial Zindani 6-2, 6-2. The Raiders' Clark Rue defeated Housman 6-0, 7-6(7-4 tiebreaker). And MSOE's Lopez defeated Fawaz 6-4, 7-6(7-2 tiebreaker). In the only unfinished match, Lauer was leading Nakasato 6-2, 1-6, 2-1 before play was halted.