LINCOLN, Neb. – The Northwestern College men's tennis team (7-2) traveled to Lincoln, Neb. to take on a familiar foe in Morningside University in a non-conference matchup, and an NCAA Division III opponent in Nebraska Wesleyan. The Raiders dropped a close one to Morningside (4-3) but bounced back to defeat Nebraska Wesleyan (7-2).
Match 1
The doubles matches were close and competitive with Northwestern eventually clinching the point.
Brian VandenBerg (Jr., Mason City, Iowa) and
David Bomgaars (Fr., Denver, Colo.) won their set 6-2 and
Jack Roisum (So., Rapid City, S.D.) and
Noah Roisum (So., Rapid City, S.D.) won the doubles point for the Raiders with a 6-4 victory.
Head coach
Monte Tilgner had this to say about his team's performances, "Three great doubles matches, with the point being decided by Jack and Noah winning the last three games to win 6-4 and clinch the double's point."
The singles matches were also competitive and hard fought. Bomgaars and
Juan Mackrey (Sr., Balcare, Argentina) were the winners on the singles side, with Morningside taking the other four matches. Coach Tilgner added, "Brian lost a tough match, losing the second set 7-9 in a tiebreaker and then lost the super tiebreaker 9-11. In the end, they got us 4-3. The guys were pretty disappointed with that tough loss."
Match 2
The second matchup of the day saw the Raiders bounce back and take the match 7-2 from Nebraska Wesleyan.
VandenBerg and Bomgaars won their second doubles match of the day 8-7 (10-8). The Roisum duo also won their match 8-3 to help the Raiders take a 2-1 advantage after the completion of the doubles matches. Coach Tilgner added, "They are such a great team in doubles and I was so proud of our guys in taking 2 of the 3 doubles points."
On the singles side a lot of long matches were played, and Northwestern took five of the six to bring their point total to seven. VandenBerg and Bomgaars dominated their matches, 6-2, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-1 respectively. Mackrey and
Colin Harmelink (Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) both won their matches 6-3, 7-5.
Noah Roisum battled and took his match 0-6, 6-4, 10-6.
Coach Tilgner shared a few more thoughts, "It was a match where the guys had to battle through some tired legs and did nice job. Overall it was a good day and made us better."
Up Next: The Raiders will return to action after spring break as they travel to Indianola, Iowa to take on two Division III opponents Simpson College and Wartburg College on March 26.
