UW-Whitewater bowed out in the second round of the NCAA III championship tournament after a 5-3 loss to Gustavus Adolphus College Saturday in the Whitewater Regional at the Four Lakes Athletic Club in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
Whitewater led 2-1 after doubles play. Gustavus tied it with a win at five singles, and went ahead 4-2 wins at five singles
With the match tied at 3-3, Whitewater's
Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) lost 6-3 after being up 3-2. At that time Warhawk teammate
Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial) was serving for his match at 5-4 but the Gusties Mya Smith-Dennis broke his serve. At the same point in the match Whitewater's
Jake Humphreys (Kenosha/Tremper) had fought to get his match to 5-3, 30-love when Byron's match ended.
Whitewater came into the match ranked twenty-eighth in the
Intercollegiate Tennis Association national Division III poll, and fifth in the ITA Central Region. Gustavus is ranked eighteenth nationally and fourth in the Central Region.
Gustavus advances to play the winner of Trinity University (TX) and Ohio Northern, which is being played tonight. That regional title match is set for 12:00 Sunday on the Wangerin Courts on the UW-W campus. Please watch
the UW-W tennis tournament website for any weather related changes to the venue and/or time.
Whitewater finishes the season with a 19-12 dual meet record. The Warhawks were making their seventh consecutive NCAA III tournament appearance.
