Men's Tennis Releases
Rams await draw for Iowa Conference Team Championships
Coming up - Thursday, April 30, at Iowa Conference Team Championships, Cedar Rapids, 9 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, May 1-2, at Iowa Conference Individual Championships, Cedar Rapids, TBA.
Ram review - Cornell dropped a pair of duals in its final competition of the regular season Sunday in Waverly. The Rams fell 8-1 to Iowa Conference foe Wartburg in the day's opening dual and then lost by the same 8-1 count to UW-La Crosse later in the day.
Freshman Neal Klauer (Fridley, Minn./Fridley) was involved in both of Cornell's match wins. He teamed with Courtland Olson (Afton, Minn./Woodbury) for a 9-7 victory against Wartburg at No. 2 doubles. Klauer also rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 victory over UW-La Crosse at No. 3 singles.
In the Wartburg dual, Brandon Wolff (Keokuk/Keokuk) at No. 4 and Olson at No. 6 battled their singles opponents to third-set tiebreakers before both falling 10-6. Against UW-La Crosse, Cornell's No. 1 team of Kris Andresen (Katy, Texas/Taylor) and John Mineck (Cedar Rapids/Kennedy) fought tough in an 8-6 setback.
The Rams moved to 9-19 overall and 3-6 in the IIAC. Cornell will likely earn a berth in the six-team IIAC Team Championships, held Thursday in Cedar Rapids. The tournament begins at 9 a.m. with first-round duals. The No. 3 seed will play the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed will meet the No. 5 seed. The top two teams receive byes into the semifinals.
Cornell stands sixth in the league standings. Luther (8-0) and Coe (4-0) are both undefeated in IIAC play. Central is 7-3, Wartburg 7-3, Dubuque 4-4, Simpson 2-9, Buena Vista 1-7 and Loras 1-7. Tournament pairings will be released Tuesday.
UW-La Crosse 8, Cornell 1 (April 26, at Waverly)
Singles - Joey Van Lieshout (UWL) def. Kris Andresen 6-4, 6-4; Nick Piotrowski (UWL) def. John Mineck 6-4, 6-2; Neal Klauer (Cor) def. Nathan Fekete 3-6, 6-4, 10-8; Steven Quiring (UWL) def. Brandon Wolff 6-0, 6-3; Doug Marmar (UWL) def. Ryan Walden 6-4, 6-3; Paul Vickers (UWL) def. Courtland Olson 6-2, 6-0. Doubles - Van Lieshout/Piotrowski (UWL) def. Andresen/Mineck 8-6; Jon Mahvi/Quiring (UWL) def. Klauer/Olson 8-4; Sam Talarczyk/John Hildebrandt (UWL) def. Wolff/Walden 8-3.
Wartburg 8, Cornell 1 (April 26, at Waverly)
Singles - Mitch Eslick (War) def. Andresen 6-3, 6-4; Chris Buckingham (War) def. Mineck 6-3, 6-4; Tom Koenen (War) def. Klauer 6-0, 6-3; Andrew Kahler (War) def. Wolff 1-6, 6-4, 10-6; Aaron Masterson (War) def. Walden 7-5, 6-4; Pat Mullen (War) def. Olson 4-6, 7-5, 10-6. Doubles - Eslick/Koenen (War) def. Andresen/Mineck 8-3; Klauer/Olson (Cor) def. Buckingham/Kahler 9-7; Mullen/Masterson (War) def. Wolff/Walden 8-2.
