LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s tennis teams hit the courts this week, traveling both east and west for spring break road trips.
Colorado College played four matches this week, going 2-2 during their trip to Orlando.
Schreiner University traveled to Oregon for their spring break road trip, facing off against three teams from the Pacific Northwest.
Texas Lutheran University traveled around the southeast over their spring break to compete this week.
Colorado College
The Tigers began the week in Orlando, facing off against Concordia University (Wisc.) to earn a 9-0 win. CC cruised through doubles play with 8-3 wins at both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, while Casey Shaw and Jack Benham teamed up in the third line for an 8-0 shutout of CU. All six singles matches went to the Tigers in straight sets, with only one match allowing more than two points by Concordia. Later in the day, CC took on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, but fell 6-3. For the second time that day, Jason Gutierrez and Jack Burger teamed up in the top doubles spot to earn close 9-8 win. Taylor Delehanty and Jake Peterson narrowly lost in the second line by the same score. Burger and Delehanty earned the only singles points for the Tigers, with Burger winning at No. 2 (6-3, 6-3) and Delehanty taking No. 5 (6-3, 6-2). The following day, CC couldn’t top regionally-ranked Luther College, dropping the match 6-3. Burger and Gutierrez earned the only points for the Tigers in the match, posting a win at No. 1 doubles, 9-7, and each winning their singles match. Gutierrez took the No. 1 singles spot 7-6, 7-5, while Burger cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win in the second line. Delehanty forced a tiebreaker at No. 5 singles, but couldn’t pull it out, falling 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (7). To close out the week, the Tigers faced Bethel University, rallying back for a 5-4 win. In doubles play, Benham and Shaw earned the first point for CC at the No. 3 spot, 8-3. Burger closed out his perfect week at No. 2 singles with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 1-0(4) win. Shaw also needed three sets to win, as he took the third line 6-2. 2-6. 1-0(5). Delehanty posted the Tigers’ only straight-set win in singles at the No. 5 spot with a 6-1, 6-2 win. Benham closed out the match with a hard-fought win at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (8).
Schreiner University
The Mountaineers hit the West Coast for spring break, taking on three opponents in Oregon. They began with a match against regionally-ranked George Fox University, but fell 8-1. GFU got off to a quick start, sweeping doubles action, and SU couldn’t rally back. The Mountaineers only point in the match came at No. 6 singles as Christian Casillas battled it out for a 5-7, 7-5 (10-6) win. The following day, the Mountaineers pulled off a 5-4 win over Linfield College. The Mountaineers led 2-1 after doubles, earning wins at the top two spots from the duos of Austin Carrola/Nick Pena and Stephen Rogers/Dayton Hancock. Carrola and Pena posted an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles, while Rogers and Hancock cruised to an 8-3 win at No. 2. In singles play, Carrola took the No. 2 spot 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-3. SU dropped the No. 1, 3 and 4 singles spots, but Josh Ramirez tied it up 4-4 with a 6-3, 6-0 win in the fifth line. It all came down to Casillas at No. 6 singles as he battled it out for a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win to clinch the match. To close out the spring break trip, the Mountaineers faced Willamette on Wednesday, earning a 6-3 win. In doubles play, SU took wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Ramirez posted a quick win at No. 5 singles to increase the lead to 3-1. Pena posted a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win in the top spot, before Hancock, seeing his first singles action in three weeks, clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 3, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3, and Casillas added the final point with a win at No. 6 singles.
Texas Lutheran University
The Bulldogs began their week at Louisiana College, posting a 9-0 win. TLU lost just five games in singles action, with Cliff Pack, Sanio Dizdarevic and Ryan Beene earning 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 1, 2 and 3 singles, respectively. Greg Nelson took the No. 4 spot with a 6-1, 6-0 win, followed by Eric Beckenbach at No. 5 who posted an identical win. Wesley Pryor closed the match out with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles. In doubles play, Been/Nelson teamed up in the second line, while Adrian Balderas and Adam Poore took the No. 3 spot by 8-0 wins. Beckenbach/Dillenbeck took the top line 8-2. The following day, TLU traveled to Mississippi to take on Millsaps College, but fell 5-4. After doubles action, the Bulldogs faced a 2-1 deficit with their only point coming from the No. 3 pair of Beckenbach and Dillenbeck. Cliff Pack started it off in singles play with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) win at No. 1, but the Bulldogs dropped the No. 2 and 3 spots to face a 4-2 deficit. Greg Nelson closed the gap with a 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6) win at No. 4, but the Majors took the fifth line to secure the win. In the final match, Dillenbeck posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6. To finish out the road trip, the TLU men faced off against Loyola University New Orleans Thursday, winning the match 6-3. The Bulldogs swept doubles play, as Dizdarevic/Pack took the top line 8-6, Beckenbach/Dillenbeck took No. 2 8-5 and Nelson/Beene finished it out with an 8-4 win in the third line. Loyola swept the top three singles spots to tie the match up, but TLU posted straight set wins in No. 4, 5 and 6 singles to earn the win. Beene faced the biggest challenge, winning the No. 4 match 6-4, 7-5, while Dillenbeck posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 and Beckenbach took No. 6, 6-1, 6-0.