Pat Mullen returns a serve for the Knights earlier this year. The Knights finished their weekend in the Quad Cities 1-2. File Photo
PAM RODGERS STAFF WRITER
The men’s tennis team went 1-2 last weekend in the Quad Cities Tennis Club tournament hosted by Augustana College.
The Knights’ win came Friday against St. Ambrose pulling out a 5-4 win. The two losses came on Saturday, losing to Monmouth College 5-4 and to host Augustana 7-2.
“Three tough matches….the opponents we faced were all evenly matched, maybe a stroke or two ahead of us one through six. But we were focused and fought for each ball out on the court. I don’t think there was a man who left the court with much left in the gas tank at the end of the day, and that was encouraging to see,” head coach Ben Oestreich said.
In the match with the Augustana Vikings, Wartburg’s two points came from the singles competition. No. 1 Mitch Eslick won the first set in a tie-break 7-6 and the second set 6-4 against his foe Chris Mullin. At No. 5, Pat Mullen defeated his opponent Chris Fowler in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
“Pat Mullen stepped up his game this weekend. He was playing like a senior who knew how important each point is to his team and fought for every ball,” Oestreich said.
The Knights battled against the Monmouth Scots getting edged out by just one point. The victories came from Eslick again as he battled his opponent Kyle Korb to a tie-break. He dropped the first set 6-7 but then battled back and took set two 6-1. Then, Eslick was victorious in the tie-break, winning 10-6.
Also scoring singles wins were No. 2 Chris Buckingham and No. 3 Tom Koenen. Buckingham fought back after losing the first set 2-6 to force a tie-breaker by winning the second set 6-4. He came out on top 10-6 to help the Knights. Koenen made short work of his foe Eric Brandhorst winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
Wartburg’s fourth point came from the No. 1 doubles duo of Eslick and Koenen who topped their opponents 8-3.
In Friday’s action against St. Ambrose, the Knights came out on top. The Knights’ wins came out of No. 2, 3 and 5 singles and No. 1 and 3 doubles.
“The key was No. 3 doubles getting a win. Chris Buckingham and Pat Mullen came from behind and passed their opponents for the win. Hopefully this is the start of turning the corner for them,” Oestreich said.
The Knights have their home meet coming up next weekend. Warburg will square off against Concordia (Wis.) and University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. First serve is set for 10 a.m.