Men's Tennis places second at NACC Tournament

MADISON – The Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Tennis team avenged an earlier loss to Edgewood College to advance to the NACC Tournament Finals Saturday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Falcons the run ended there as Wisconsin Lutheran downed them in the championship, 5-3, making CUW the NACC runner-up.

In the semifinal win over the Eagles, CUW began by winning two out of three in doubles play. The No. 3 doubles team of senior Tanner Hahn (Reedsburg, Wis.) and junior Steven Fritz (Berwyn, Ill.) had little trouble gaining an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles.

Senior Skip Turner (Eau Claire, Wis.) and junior Benjamin Nommensen (Waupaca, Wis.) provided the highlight of the match, gaining a 9-8 (7-5) win at No. 2 doubles. That win allowed CUW to take a 2-1 advantage into singles play.

Edgewood would pick up a No. 3 singles win but the Falcons rolled in No. 4, 5 and 6 singles for the 5-2 win. Nommensen did not drop a point with a 6-0, 6-0 No. 4 victory, while senior Garrett Wells (Aurora, Ill.) won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5. Junior Robert Spiering (Wauwatosa, Wis.) then rounded out the match with a convincing 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 6 singles.

In the loss against WLC, CUW dropped two out of three at doubles play to begin the match. The Falcons No. 3 duo of Hahn and Fritz was again victorious, gaining an 8-4 advantage. WLC would pick up wins at No. 1 and 2, the No. 1 doubles match by a 9-8 score (7-5 tiebreak).

The Falcons got a No. 6 singles win from Spiering but WLC picked wins at No. 3 and 4 singles to take a 4-2 lead. The No. 2 singles match then won it for the Warriors, with No. 1 and 5 going unfinished.

The Falcons finished 2014 with a 14-12 record.