Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324Box Score
Mar. 4, 2016 – Playing without its top two singles players, the North Central College men's tennis team scraped out a 5-4 come from behind win over Concordia University Wisconsin on Friday evening inside the Res/Rec Center.
The Cardinals (5-1) were forced to move everyone in the lineup up two positions due to injuries, but North Central was able to take two of the three doubles positions to jump out to an early 2-1 lead. The duo of
Connor Sass and
Ryan Doeckel took down Christian Docter and Brad Guendel, 8-4 at the No. 1 spot, while
Hayden Sass and
Alex Kohlmeier fought off Ceejay Schaffner and Jonah Fowle, 9-8 at the No. 3 position.
The Falcons (4-3) backed the Cardinals into a corner to begin singles play however, as Concordia Wisconsin claimed the first three singles positions to quickly turn the tables and take a commanding 4-2 lead.
All but down and out,
Adam Winters kept the Cardinals alive with a decisive 7-5, 6-2 win over Trevor Budewitz at No. 4. At No. 5,
Hayden Sass traded the first two sets with Schaffner, 6-4, 2-6, and was on the brink of elimination, facing a 9-8 deficit in the third set tiebreaker. Facing not only his own match point, but the team's match point as well, the freshman responded to score the next three points in thrilling fashion, not only preventing the loss but also knotting the score 4-4.
With the score all tied at four apiece, it all came down to the No. 6 position where
Cristobal Arias-Staines took the first set over Robert Spiering, 6-3 but faced a 5-3 deficit in set number two. Arias-Staines was not to be denied however, battling back to knot the score 6-6, before winning all seven points of the tiebreaker to seal the 5-4 win for the Cardinals.
North Central will take part in its annual spring break strip to Hilton Head Island, S.C. from Mar. 18-22, as the Cardinals open the trip against Heidelberg University on Friday, Mar. 18 at 5 p.m. (ET).
