By: At 8-9 for the year, the Blueboys will remain knotted with three past teams for the most victories in a single season.
Box Score
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Illinois College men's tennis team lost its regular season finale to Cornell College on Sunday morning by a 7-2 score line that was actually much closer than it looked. Three matches in singles went to a third set before the Rams prevailed in them to get the win. The Blueboys end the season at 8-9 (3-5 Midwest Conference) heading into next weekend's MWC Championships.
Cornell took a 2-1 lead after doubles, earning an 8-3 win at No. 1 and an 8-1 win at No. 2.
Jacob McQueen and
Nazar Otunchiev kept hope alive for the Blueboys with a gritty 8-6 win in the No. 3 match.
The Rams extended their lead to 4-1 with straight set wins at Nos. 2 and 3 over Otunchiev and
Michael Connolly.
Miguel Vaca took a point for the Blueboys at No. 1 with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 victory over Shoma Kishimoto. That makes Vaca 15-2 on the season at No. 1 singles with a 7-1 mark in the conference.
At 4-2, the match was still anyone's to win, but Cornell managed to secure the remaining three points by sweeping a trio of third sets. In the No. 4 match, Tom Greene outlasted
Cameron Doerr, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5. At No. 5, Connor Schanen got past
Rolando Salazar, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. In the No. 6 match, Auston Sack recovered from a second-set loss for a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over McQueen.
Illinois College next heads to Madison, Wis. for the MWC Championships, competing on April 28 and 29. Action begins at 8 a.m. each day at the Nielsen Tennis Center as the Blueboys vie for individual conference titles in singles and doubles. Draws will be released in the upcoming days.
