Champion Saints headline men's tennis tourney field with NCAA bid up for grabs
ST. PAUL, Minn.---For the first time since becoming a NCAA Division III member, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) will award an automatic qualifying bid to the winner of the men's tennis tournament, and the highest seed teams will have an opportunity to host semifinal matches.
With a trip to the national tournament on the line, the College of St. Scholastica is in the driver's seat as the No. 1 seed in the UMAC tournament set to begin Wednesday.
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Tournament Site |
Players to Watch |
Team Info |
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Event Info |
The Saints wrapped up a 22nd-consecutive regular season conference title Sunday with a 9-0 win over first-year program University of Wisconsin-Superior. With the win, the Saints' extended their regular-season conference winning streak to 159 after going 7-0.
In the first semifinal match, the top-seeded Saints will host No. 4 Bethany Lutheran College. The Vikings punched their ticket after finishing 4-3 in league play. In the first meeting between the two squads, the Saints cruised to a 8-1 win with the lone point for the Vikings coming at No. 2 doubles. This will be the fifth-straight postseason appearance for Bethany Lutheran.
After losing a closely-contested 6-3 match to St. Scholastica Friday, the University of Northwestern captured two wins Saturday to finish 6-1 in conference play to lock up the No. 2 seed for the third season in a row. The Eagles will host No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior – a team that went 5-2 in its first year as a program – for a semifinal rematch. The No. 3 Yellowjackets will face a tough test in defeating No. 2 Northwestern after dropping the regular season match 7-2.
With the new format, No. 1 St. Scholastica will host No. 4 Bethany Lutheran at 5:15 p.m. in Duluth, while No. 2 Northwestern will welcome No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior at 6 p.m. in St. Paul.
For both semifinal and championship matches, doubles will be played first. Singles matches cannot begin until all doubles matches have been completed.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
UMAC Men’s Tennis Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on
Twitter and
Instagram using
#UMACchamp.
Players to Watch
No. 1 St. Scholastica
Serhii Tykhonenko – 4-0 UMAC singles, 6-0 UMAC doubles
Elliot Schneider – 6-0 UMAC singles, 3-2 UMAC doubles
Trace Combs – 7-0 UMAC singles, 2-3 UMAC doubles
No. 2 Northwestern
CJ Lloyd – 6-1 UMAC singles, 6-1 UMAC doubles
Landon Ridpath – 5-1 UMAC singles, 5-1 UMAC doubles
Josh Kimball – 7-0 UMAC singles, 7-0 UMAC doubles
No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior
Josiah Borst – 5-2 UMAC singles, 4-3 UMAC doubles
Petar Bulatovic – 4-3 UMAC singles
Will Sherman – 5-1 UMAC singles, 4-3 UMAC doubles
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran
Laine Larson – 4-3 UMAC singles, 5-2 UMAC doubles
Dalton Werckman – 5-2 UMAC singles, 5-2 UMAC doubles
Carter Dahl – 4-3 UMAC singles, 5-2 UMAC doubles
Teams and Links
Playoff Schedule
*Note format change for 2018.
Semifinal Matches - Wednesday, May 2 (Weather Make up, Thursday, May 3)
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran at No. 1 St. Scholastica, 5:15 p.m., Duluth, Minn.
No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior at No. 2 Northwestern, 6 p.m., St. Paul, Minn.
Championship Match - Saturday, May 5
At highest remaining seed
Event Information
All matches will be held at the location of the highest seed. There will be no charge for admission to the UMAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships for 2018.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the UMAC Men’s Tennis Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on Twitter and Instagram using #UMACchamp.
2018 Tournament Page