St. Louis, MO. -- Men's Tennis defended their SLIAC title again Saturday, beating the opposing Panthers 5-1 to make it six consecutive years on top of the conference. Although the good guys dominated the regular season matchup without dropping a set they knew they were in for a fight, especially while missing
Nat Kenworthy.
Wyatt Dale and
Greg Sovie put the first point on the board with a routine win at the top doubles spot. They quickly took a 4-1 lead and never looked back, only getting broken once but otherwise served well and finished points at the net. Unlike the previous meeting however, the second and third spots came down to the wire.
Daniel Gomez and
Jules Kitchingman broke back and held serve to even it at six games apiece before going to a tiebreak on court two, when they finally got hot and jumped up 4-1 on their way to clinching the doubles lead. Leading 5-2, they worked an extended rally and miraculously saved several balls to win a point that stuck the dagger in Greenville's 2
nd doubles pair.
Brody Swan and
Dan Wagstaff began to make up ground after a slow start but couldn't bring it all the way back, and the Panthers led 2-1 heading into singles play.
Kitchingman dominated at 4
th singles with his steady backhand and ran Greenville all over the court with his forehand, pushing the overall lead to 3-1. Gomez also outlasted his man and smacked his big forehand everywhere to put the boys on the verge of the fifth win and the title.
Throughout the rest of the lineup Swan hit the ball cleanly and was well-positioned in a battle to win his first set at number five.
Peter Griswold lost the first frame but was hunting for a comeback to start the second, while Sovie was near the finish line after blowing through the first set and up 3-0 in the second. The clinch came on court two, provided by Dale's pressure and big shot-making that capped the team's most successful season in years.
Thank you to everyone who came to watch and support during the season! Although the team graduates five seniors, the Panthers will be back next year and hungry as ever to continue their run of SLIAC dominance. For those seniors, they've prevailed in the conference final over Greenville all four seasons and have each contributed huge wins throughout the lineup in those big matches. The impact they left will not be forgotten soon.
Box Score (winners in bold):
1
stdoubles:
Wyatt Dale/Greg Sovie vs Daniel Pieplow/Zach Plocher 8-3
2
nd:
Daniel Gomez/Jules Kitchingman vs Justin Tilford/Tyler Blume 8-7 (2)
3
rd:
Brody Swan/
Dan Wagstaff vs
Austin Burkhart/Matthew Rodriguez8-6
1
stsingles:
#20 Gomez vs Pieplow 6-1, 6-1
2
nd:
Dale vs Plocher 6-3, 6-1
3
rd: Sovie vs Tilford 6-1, 3-0 unfinished
4
th:
Kitchingman vs Burkhart 6-0, 6-0
5
th: Swan vs Blume 6-5 unfinished
6
th:
Peter Griswold vs Rodriguez 3-6, 0-1 unfinished
Order of finish: doubles (1, 2, 3); singles (4, 1, 2)
Final score- Principia 5-1
