Men's Tennis | 5/5/2023 9:24:00 PM
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Houghton men's tennis wrapped up its record-setting season with a 5-0 loss to Nichols College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Williamstown, Mass., on Friday.
The Highlanders complete their season with a 15-7 overall record, setting a program record for wins in a season. The previous high was 12 (2017 and 2022). This was the program's second NCAA appearance in the past three years.
Against Nichols, the Highlanders dropped all three doubles matches, but the first doubles team of Levi Webb and Jaimie Staerkle put up a strong fight. The tandem took the match to a tiebreaker and led 4-1, but ultimately fell in the match by a score of 8-7 (7-5).
The Bison secured the final two points necessary for the win with victories in fourth and sixth singles to advance to the tournament second round Saturday.
"I couldn't be prouder to coach this team and see the growth each and every individual has made throughout the year," said Head Coach Zach Shilvock. "Their hard work and effort earned us a conference title, and they represented our University well at the national level. We had a goal to compete better here at the first round of NCAA's, and we accomplished that goal. This experience will be invaluable for our program as we look to progress in the future. I am proud to be a Highlander and I'm excited to see this team grow next year."
The loss ended Houghton's 12-match win streak.
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,3,1
Singles: 4,6
No. 1 Doubles: Frederik Bertrams and Leon Zeis (Nichols) defeats Jaimie Staerkle and Levi Webb (Houghton), 8-7 (7-5 tiebreaker)
No. 2 Doubles: Yannick De Vet and Ludwig Schlatzer (Nichols) defeats Micah Schilke and Marcelo Garcia (Houghton), 8-0
No. 3 Doubles: Santiago Perez and Caio Dieckmann (Nichols) defeats Nolan Zach and Matt Cicero (Houghton), 8-2
No. 1 Singles: Trevor Schwarzmann (Nichols) led Jaimie Staerkle (Houghton), 6-3, 1-0
No. 2 Singles: Leon Zeis (Nichols) led Micah Schilke (Houghton), 6-3, 2-1
No. 3 Singles: Frederik Bertrams (Nichols) led Levi Webb (Houghton), 6-3, 2-1
No. 4 Singles: Yannick De Vet (Nichols) defeats Nolan Zach (Houghton), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Singles: Ludwig Schlatzer (Nichols) led Matt Cicero (Houghton), 6-1, 4-1
No. 6 Singles: Enzo Matos Balleux (Nichols) defeats Marcelo Garcia (Houghton), 6-2, 6-0
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