Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The W's magical tennis season came to a close, for both the men's and women's teams, in the semifinals of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship tournament at the Baseline Tennis Center. Both of the Owls' squads, the No. 2 teams from the UMAC South Division, lost to UMAC North champion University of Wisconsin-Superior teams, 4-0 for the ladies and 4-2 in the men's bout.
In the first match of the afternoon, the MUW women ran into a buzz saw versus the Yellowjackets, who won their eighth-consecutive match in defeating the Owls. UWS began by winning the doubles point, sweeping all three pairs bouts. For The W,
Kayleigh Griffin and
Brooklyn Ward fell at No. 1 doubles (6-0), with
Austin Hays and
Bailey Flynn dropping a 6-3 decision at No. 2, while
Emma Horton and
Alaina Mathis were topped at No. 3 doubles, 6-1.
Superior then won the Nos. 2, 3, and 5 singles contests in straight sets to secure the team win, ending a memorable – and record-breaking – season for the Owls. The W finished the campaign at 7-11, setting the program record for wins in a season.
Horton and Ward, both seniors on the roster, capped their careers at The W at the UMAC finals.
The men's match, however, was the tennis equivalent of two heavyweight boxers slugging it out. The teams split the first two doubles matches off the court, with the Owls'
Jorge Ortiz Catala and
Sandro Giangregorio winning at No. 1 (6-3), but
Josh Cooper and
Marcos Fernandez losing at No. 3 doubles (6-1). That meants that the doubles team point hinged on No. 2 pairs, where MUW's
Juan Garcia and
Alvaro Bardales fell in an epic 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) loss.
In singles, The W's Bardales earned a straight set win at No. 5, 6-1, 6-3. MUW lost fourth singles, before Giangregorio was up a set at No. 2 singles, before his Yellowjacket foe had an injury retirement, to knot the team score at 2-2.
Ortiz Catala split sets at No. 1 singles, losing 7-5 and then winning set two, 6-4, before dropping the third set, 6-2. The W's Garcia also split sets at No. 3 singles and was leading, 5-4 in the third, before UWS won No. 6 singles in straight sets to clinch the match with their fourth team point, and end MUW's 2025-26 campaign.
