The Bulldogs dominated Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a non-conference matchup on Sunday, April 10, 2022.
The men’s tennis team had 8 days off between matches, but the team showed no rust on Sunday.
The team performed well in the matchup against Wisconsin-Eau Claire which was a break from conference play. The Bulldog’s performances as a team lead to a clean sweep winning all 9 matches which lead to a 7-0 victory.
The Bulldogs started with a clean sweep in the doubles competition. Mathis Guerre and his doubles partner Jan Koupil defeated Demitri Bush and Kole Kolinski 7-5. Benjamin Lortie and his partner Alessandro Santangelo defeated Hunter Roseth and Tyler Grosz also 7-5. Ayush Deswal and his partner Josh McDermott also defeated their opponents John Foley and Matt Gilbert 6-4.
The boys carried that energy from those doubles wins and dominated in singles competition. Mathis Guerre defeated Demitri Bush in 2 sets (6-3, 6-0). Jan Koupil defeated RJ Griffiths in 2 sets (6-1, 6-3). Yannic Mader defeated Hunter Roseth in 2 sets (6-4, 6-2). Benjamin Lortie defeated John Foley in 2 sets (6-1, 6-1). Alessandro Santangelo defeated Tyler Grosz in 2 sets (6-1, 6-1). Josh McDermott defeated Kole Kolinski in 2 sets (6-4, 6-4).
The bulldogs needed this matchup against Wisconsin-Eau Claire to keep them warmed up and ready so when GLIAC play resumes next weekend they will be ready.
“Our weekend for the GLIAC was off,” said head coach Mark Doren. “I really didn’t want us to have an off weekend I wanted to keep the momentum going and the guys are healthy. So, we really wanted to have a day to play some tennis ideally was supposed to be outside so we could start to get prepared for the GLIAC championship that is played outside.”
The Bulldogs haven’t had many chances to play outside, but they have had great success inside, and they will be hoping for the weather to warm up so they can get outside.
The Bulldog’s success this season has them as one of the best teams in the nation for division 2 tennis at 19 hosting a 7-match win streak and they want to keep that success rolling.
“We’re ranked in the top 20,” said Doren. “So, you can get a little bit of a big head so I’m glad the guys had a match like this to kind of settle down and still stay focused.”
Staying focused will be important for the Bulldogs as they look to continue their momentum with only 2 matches left before the start of the GLIAC tournament.
Senior Josh McDermott had a really good performance on Sunday winning his doubles match with his partner Ayush Deswal and picking up a singles win too that had his opponent frustrated.
“I think I just need to keep going for it,” said McDermott on how he can continue his success. “Practice hard and just focus on the little things that I personally need to work on and should hopefully find success.”
The team is looking very good and with 2 matches left before the GLIAC tournament starts against 2 tough GLIAC teams in Northwood and Wayne State.
“So, we just really need to knuckle down,” said McDermott in regards to the last two matches. “We got these two last matches, Northwood, you can’t overlook them, you know, they’re a solid team, and then Wayne State and you know we’ve got them the next day they’re having a phenomenal season, so I think if we, you know we’re capable of beating them too so as long as we stick to what we know play well we’ll do well.”
The Bulldogs will be back in action when they travel to Northwood on Friday, April 15th at 1 pm and Wayne State Saturday, April 16th at 10 am.