SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Playing in its second NCAA Tournament Regional in as many years, the Michigan Tech men’s tennis team fell to No. 17-ranked Drury 7-0 today in a first-round matchup. The Huskies, facing the region’s top seed on their courts for the second straight season, were swept in doubles and never recovered in singles.
“I had hoped to use last year’s experience in the tournament to our advantage,” said head coach
Mike Axford. “But it was tough stepping out to play against a quality opponent after being off for three weeks.
“They capitalized on our mistakes and proved why they’re the top team in the region.”
Drury (16-4) won at all three doubles flights and the bottom four singles positions for its seven points. Matches at Nos. 1 and 2 singles went unfinished.
The Huskies’
Luka Stupar and
Doug Yossida were defeated by an 8-3 count at No. 1 doubles.
Chris Verhulst and
Tim Viola went down 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, while
Anders Sandholm and
Andrew Kremkow were topped 8-0 at No. 3.
All four completed singles matches were decided in straight sets. Yossida’s 6-4, 6-1 loss at No. 3 was the closest of them.
Tech missed the services of
David Heuer, who was unavailable. He had compiled the team’s best winning percentage on the season in both singles (.667) and doubles (.706 with Sandholm).
Michigan Tech wrapped up its 2010 campaign with a 10-10 record.
Photo Credit: Michigan Tech
