The Lawrence University men’s tennis team traveled to Milwaukee and Whitewater last weekend to compete in away matches against MSOE, Rock Valley College and UW-Whitewater.
The Vikings overpowered MSOE Friday night with a thorough victory of 8-1. The Vikings won all six of the singles matches and only just missed the clean sweep in the number three doubles match, falling 9-8 in a tiebreaker.
They traveled to UW-Whitewater the following day, where they began by defeating Rock Valley College 8-1. This time, the only loss for the Vikings came in the number two singles match, with sophomore Caleb Ray being outlasted in the tiebreaking third set.
Unfortunately, the Vikings were overpowered later that day by UW-Whitewater, losing 8-1. Senior captain Ryan Dunn defeated Whitewater’s Danny Glinert comprehensively by a score of 6-2, 6-1, but Dunn’s victory was the only one for the Vikings.
Dunn has been the driving force of the Vikings since he transferred to Lawrence his sophomore year. With his win (6-3, 6-2) against James Lewison of UW-Oshkosh in mid-March, he beat Tobin Laursen’s record of 45 career wins to take the title of most career wins in Lawrence history with a record of 46-10 and an impressive 0.821 winning percentage.
The tennis team is comprised of seven men, with each match requiring six singles players and six doubles players with overlap. They’ve suffered from several injuries and illnesses, but in spite of their numerous setbacks, the Vikings (10-7, 0-0 MWC) still possess the best record in the North Division of the Midwest Conference.
The Vikings’ chance to make it to the national championship highly depends on the upcoming match on Saturday against Grinnell (13-5, 2-0 MWC,) who has defeated them six times in the past six years. The odds are stacked against them, but freshman Cooper Smith remains optimistic, noting, “It’s one of the best tennis teams at Lawrence so far.”
Dunn will be facing Ecuadorian youth champ Juan Carlos Perez in the number one singles, and the intense competition will continue in the other 11 matches.
Men’s tennis dominates MSOE and Rock Valley College
