By: Illinois College took a 2-1 lead in doubles, but could manage only two out of six singles matches in a 5-4 loss.
GALESBURG, Ill. – The Illinois College men's tennis team started its 2017 season with a loss, but a 5-4 defeat to Simpson College revealed plenty of promise for the Blueboys.
One year ago, the Storm dealt IC a decisive 8-1 loss with the only point coming at No. 1 singles from
Miguel Vaca. This time around, the Blueboys won two out of three doubles matches and were mere points away from coming away with a season-opening win.
Starting off with doubles, Illinois College fell behind 1-0 after an 8-0 loss at No. 3 by
T.J. Lawal and
Collin Walter, however IC came back with wins at No. 1 and 2. Vaca and
Michael Connolly were 8-6 winners at No. 1 and
Nazar Otunchiev and
Rolando Salazar broke late to earn a 9-7 win at No. 2.
A win by the Storm at No. 6 singles leveled the score at 2-2, but Vaca made quick work of Adam Wieser at No. 1 singles, winning 6-1, 6-1, to give the Blueboys a 3-2 advantage. Simpson again pulled even and then went ahead with victories at Nos. 2 and 5 singles, taking a 4-3 lead. Otunchiev tied things up again with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Brett Dewerff at No. 4 singles, leaving Connolly's No. 3 match as the determining factor.
Though Connolly had won a tight 6-4 first set against Geoff Converse, the Simpson player came back with a 7-6(3) win in the second set to force a 10-point tiebreak to decide the match. Converse pulled ahead early in the tiebreaker, but Connolly rallied to within 7-6 before falling 10-7 and allowing the Storm to escape, improving their record to 2-3 on the season.
Illinois College will return to action next weekend, facing Principia College in Elsah, Ill. on Feb. 11 at 5 p.m.
