SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After a week off, the IUPUI men's tennis team (6-16, 0-1) returned to action in what turned out to be a tough weekend series as the Jags fell in all three scheduled dual-meets, losing to Xavier 2-5 Friday (March 31), followed by sweeps against Butler (April 1) and Notre Dame (April 2).
In the matchup with Xavier, IUPUI dropped the top four singles matches, before
Marcus Nalley stopped the bleeding at the No. 5 spot. After losing the first set, 6-7, Nalley fought back in the second set, 6-4, to force a tiebreaker. He'd secure the comeback with a 1-0 (10-7) win in the tiebreaker set.
At the No. 6 spot,
Bradley Luetschwager was able to pick up a sound win, handling Xavier's Connor LaFavre, 6-2, 6-1. The Jags dropped the doubles point in the meet.
In the Saturday bout with Butler, doubles competition was tight. Following a 2-6 loss at the No. 1,
David Beasley and
Kyle Whittaker lost a hard fought 5-7 matchup at the No. 2 doubles spot. Nalley and
Steven Christie also went down to the wire but came up just short, dropping the final battle of the duos, 6-7.
In singles play, Butler swept the Jags in all six matches.
Jac Newis had the best match in the singles competition, competing in a close 5-7, 6-7 (3) loss at the No. 2.
The final meet saw Notre Dame winning every match, with Nalley being the only player to win a set. In the No. 4 singles competition, Nalley overcame a 5-7 first set loss, to win the second set, 6-2, and force a tiebreaker. He couldn't capitalize on the momentum, though, as he lost the tiebreaker set 10-5.
The Jags will return home to play Omaha on April 8 at noon EST in the West Indy Racquet Club.
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