Butch McCartney
The men’s tennis squad used its team depth to help extend its win streak to five matches with a trio of home triumphs over the weekend.
The three 7-0 wins over St. Ambrose University (Iowa), Macalester College (Minn.) and Bethel College (Minn.) improves the Blugolds season record to 6-4.
“We have such a big school so we have a lot of (depth),” senior Joe Johnston said. “It makes us stronger from top to bottom, and those on the bottom of the lineup tend to win easy.”
At No. 1 singles, Johnston went 3-0 with his toughest competition coming against Macalester’s R.J. Laukitis on Saturday. After winning the first set 7-6, Johnston fell 4-6 in the second. Johnston edged Laukitis 7-6 in the must-win final set to claim victory.
Johnston’s winning percentage in doubles matches didn’t match that of his singles play. He and sophomore teammate Jon Snodgrass paired up at No. 1 doubles to go 2-1 in weekend matches. Coming off Friday’s 8-6 defeat to St. Ambrose, the pair bounced back to down Macalester, 8-3, and Bethel, 8-2, on Saturday.
Despite Friday’s loss, the Blugolds picked up the lone doubles point by winning the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches, which kept St. Ambrose scoreless.
The five match wins in a row is a credit to the team’s willingness to improve, said Snodgrass.
“Each week in practice it seems like we’re getting better and better,” he said. “Coach (Tom Gillman) has put some good drills in and we’ve just been rippin’ the ball.”
Snodgrass posted a 3-0 weekend mark at No. 3 doubles, while Senior Steve Matuszewski continued his solid play as he improved his season record to 8-2 at No. 6 doubles. Matuszewski lost just five games out of six singles sets that he played in.
Johnston was optimistic about the team’s performance as of late, but added that the Blugolds will need to play even better in their next match when they travel to St. Peter, Minnesota on Saturday to take on a Div. III powerhouse in Gustavus Adolphus College. Last year’s matchup with Gustavus resulted in a 6-1 defeat of the ‘Golds.
“They’re a tennis factory, that school is,” Johnston said. “Their top seven players could easily play (Division) I. It’d be nice to beat them, but past history really hasn’t proved that.”
