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SMU at Will. Jewel Monday, April 10 |
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THE SCORE
Will, Jewell 9, SMU women 0 SMU men 5, Will. Jewel 4 |
Win over William Jewell doesn't come quite so easily for SMU men
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It wasn't quite as easy as their last three wins, but it was a win just the same.
The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team posted its second straight win — and fourth victory in their last five matches — as the Cardinals got a decisive 7-5, 6-3 win from Andrew Pamperin (Menomonie, Wis.) at No. 6 singles to slip past William Jewell 5-4 in a nonconference match Monday.
"The guys have been playing extremely well of late," said SMU coach Jeff Halberg, whose team had sandwiched 9-0 win over Martin Luther, Bethany Lutheran and Northwestern around a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to St. Thomas heading into Monday's matchup with William Jewell. "And this was one of those matches where they really had to battle, and they played very well."
Despite a solid effort, the SMU women weren't as fortunate against William Jewell, falling 9-0.
"(William Jewell) is an outstanding team," said Halberg, noting that William Jewell entered Monday's match ranked No. 23 in the latest NAIA rankings. "All things considered, I thought gave them a good run."
The SMU men picked up doubles wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to take a 2-1 lead into the singles portion of the match, where Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.) and Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.) posted straight-set wins. William Jewell, however, posted wins at Nos. 2, 4 and 5 to knot things up with one match still being played.
And Pamperin was up to the task as the SMU senior escaped with a hard-fought 7-5 win in the first set, before icing the victory with a 6-3 triumph in the second.
"It was good to see Andrew come through like that," said Halberg. "Overall, I'm very happy with the way both teams played."