The St. Olaf men’s tennis team snapped its three-match losing streak on April 13 as the Oles defeated Saint John’s University 6-3 at the Sartell Fitness Evolution.
The Oles started off the match by sweeping the doubles competition. Andy Catania ’13 and Stephen Nolan ’15 evened their record for the year to 4-4 as they triumphed over Johnnies Jack Hansen and Fabricio Moncada 8-6. Pairs Ryan Abdella ’13 and Joey Kronzer ’16 and Ben Carlson ’16 and Charlie Reinertsen ’13 took home wins as well, topping their rivals 8-4 and 8-6, respectively.
The Oles used the fire from their strong start to propel them into the singles competition, where they won three out of six matches. Nolan lost his first set against Johnnie Joe Laue 3-6 only to come back and shut out Laue in the second set 6-0, forcing a super tiebreaker. Nolan then won the match after winning the super tiebreaker 10-5.
Kronzer pushed through a tight match to top Johnnie Jack Hansen 7-5, 7-6. The Oles’ third singles victory went to Nico Gibb ’15, who topped Zach Shriwise 6-4, 6-4.
The win over Saint John’s comes at an important time for the Oles with playoffs only a few weeks away.
“The atmosphere was pretty intense because going into the match we knew that beating Saint John’s was important for making the playoffs,” Carlson said. “They are right behind us in the MIAC standings.”
“I think the team did an awesome job to stay confident and play our own games,” Nolan said. “We knew that if we played to our full capabilities then a result would follow, and I think every player really showed up ready to play.”
The Oles 4-4, 3-2 in the MIAC faces off against Bethel University 5-6, 1-4 in the MIAC on April 20 in Roseville, Minn.
