MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Principia Men's Tennis team traveled to Minneapolis this weekend to compete in the UMAC Final Four Tournament and the opportunity to earn a berth into the NCAA Regionals. After finishing in second in the UMAC South Tournament the weekend before, the Panthers matched up in the semifinals against the top seed from the UMAC North, the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellow Jackets.
Starting with doubles, all three matches were incredibly even as the Panthers came out firing. At #3,
Rafter Sprague and
Álvaro Martín Moliz played well and had break points in numerous games. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert them and fell 8-6. Seniors
Juan Segovia and
William Johnson fought hard at #2 and continued their winning streak as they secured a big point with an 8-6 victory.
The win at #2 certainly helped spark some energy in the adjacent match at #1 doubles where
Kuda Sandi and
Ernesto Botero bolted ahead to a 6-3 lead. With two breaks of serve in hand, a second point seemed inevitable, but UWS battled back to force a tiebreak at 7-7. The tiebreaker was only first to seven, but both teams traded points over and over as neither could gain a two-point edge. Finally at 10-9, the Yellow Jackets broke through and took the match for a critical second point as UWS rolled into singles with the momentum.
As has been the theme for this year's Panthers, the singles matches were formidable battles. Things didn't start out well for Principia as they lost the first set in all six matches. However, Segovia and Sandi at #1 and #2 battled back for big second set wins to force a third. However, with the conference championships only being played to decision, UWS only needed three points to end the match, and the Yellow Jackets were able to get straight set wins at #3, #4, and #5 to down the Panthers first 5-1.
This young Panthers squad end their season with their heads held high as they finished above .500 with an overall record of 11-9. Congrats to seniors Juan and William on amazing Principia careers!
