ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Wisconsin Lutheran College men's tennis team wrapped up the conference portion of its schedule on Saturday, splitting two matches on the road. WLC opened with a 6-3 loss to Aurora University, before rebounding for a 9-0 sweep over Rockford College.
Lee Johnson (Hales Corners, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Zach Birner (Neenah, Wis./Luther Preparatory) claimed the Warriors' only two wins during singles competition in their first match of the day against the Spartans (8-7, 7-1 NAC) at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively. Johnson won 6-3, 6-3 over Ricky Hernandez, while Birner defeated Matt Butler, 6-1, 6-1. In doubles action, Johnson and Ryan Sallmann (Waukesha, Wis./West) overpowered Brett Wilder and Anthony Emmanouil, 8-4.
The Warriors won five of six singles flights in two-set fashion on their way to sweeping Rockford in their final dual of the day. Johnson, Birner, Luke Schroeder (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran), Jeremy Vanderhyde (Aurora, Colo./Rocky Mountain Lutheran), David Parez(Milwaukee, Wis./Thomas More), and Adam Breister (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran) each notched singles wins for WLC. In doubles action, the Warriors won with ease as the Regents (0-9, 0-9 NAC) won no more than two games in each of the three flights.
Wisconsin Lutheran (7-8, 6-3 NAC), which has secured the fourth seed in the upcoming NAC Tournament, will host fifth-seeded Edgewood College (7-23, 6-3 NAC) on Tuesday in a first round tournament matchup. The match will begin at 11 a.m. at the Princeton Club in New Berlin, Wis. The Warriors defeated the Eagles, 7-2, in their first meeting of the season on March 30.
