JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's tennis team fell twice on Saturday, losing a 6-3 decision to Cornell College and a 9-0 match to Grinnell College. Those two losses drop the Blueboys to 7-10 (4-4 Midwest Conference). With only two non-conference matches left on the schedule, IC will now await the results of other matches around the rest of the MWC to see if the .500 finish in conference is enough to qualify as one of the top-four teams and move on to the MWC Team Tournament later this month.
Cornell wrested control of the match away from the Blueboys early on Saturday morning, winning all three doubles matches. The Nos. 1 and 2 matches were 8-4 wins for the Rams, while they added an 8-6 win at No. 3.
The Blueboys performed better in singles, but the 3-0 deficit was too much to overcome. In the No. 1 match,
Miguel Vaca turned in a strong 6-3, 6-2 win over Shoma Kishimoto.
Michael Connolly added a 6-2, 6-4 win over Tom Greene at No. 3 and
Cameron Doerr was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Drew Arnold at No. 4. Though Illinois College was able to close the gap, Cornell held the Blueboys off with wins at Nos. 2, 5 and 6.
Connor McAndrew was close to earning IC a fourth point in the No. 6 match, but Koichi Okazaki came back for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 win.
A loss to conference powerhouse Grinnell was no surprise and kept the Pioneers undefeated in the MWC while giving them their 20th win of the season. Grinnell won two of the three doubles matches at love. Only Vaca and Connolly were able to win games in doubles, but ultimately fell in the No. 1 match by a score of 8-2.
The Pioneers finished off the 9-0 sweep of the Blueboys with six wins in singles. Vaca came the closest to earning a point, but Bowen Mince was able to hand the IC senior his first MWC loss of the season by a score of 7-6(5), 6-1.
Illinois College will have a pair of non-conference matches to finish off the regular season before traveling to Madison, Wis. for the MWC Tournament. First up is a trip to Westminster College (Mo.) on April 15 for a 4 p.m. start with the Blue Jays.
