NEW BERLIN, Wis. – The fourth-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran College men's tennis team was upset in the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament First Round on Tuesday, falling to fifth-seeded Edgewood College, 5-2, at the Princeton Club.
In doubles action, the Warriors' No. 1 team of Lee Johnson (Hales Corners, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Ryan Sallmann (Waukesha, Wis./West) defeated Edgewood's Patrick Lagman and Eric Gavinski, 8-3. The Eagles responded with two narrow victories, 9-7, at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles for a 2-1 lead heading into singles competition.
The No. 4 singles match was the first to conclude and EC's Michael Wanta defeated Luke Schroeder (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran), 6-1, 6-2. WLC collected a victory at No. 5 where Jeremy Vanderhyde (Aurora, Colo./Rocky Mountain Lutheran) topped Ben Pratscher, 7-6, 6-2. The final two matches to finish were at No. 6 and No. 2 singles and both went the way of the Eagles in three sets. Michael Janusek edged Adam Breister (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran), 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, and Gavinski knocked off Sallmann, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4. The matches at No. 1 and No. 3 went unfinished as the first team to five wins was crowned winner.
The Eagles (8-23) advance to the semifinals on Saturday in Kohler where they will face either second-seeded Milwaukee School of Engineering or top-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Lutheran finishes its best season in program history with a 7-9 overall record, including a 6-3 mark for fourth place in the conference.
