Box Score SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) squeaked by the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's tennis team with a 5-4 victory on Friday.
UIS (7-4) came out of doubles with a 2-1 lead against UMSL (3-0).
Tommy Martinez/
Sam Clarke (11-4) fought to a 9-8 victory against Kristoffer Lindal/Milan Kovacs (0-3). In the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NCAA Division II doubles rankings, Martinez/Clarke is ranked No. 23 nationally and No. 3 in the Midwest Region.
UMSL's Ben-Hur Kasprzak/Vitor Montiero (1-2) took an 8-2 win against
Jon Ayers/
Alex Chan (0-1) in No. 2 doubles. UIS's
Pete Molloy/
Oscar Toro (1-1) earned an 8-5 victory against Rob White/Karl Heinrichs (2-1) in No. 3 doubles.
The Tritons tallied four points in singles. Kasprzak (6-4) captured a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Molloy (10-6) in No. 1 singles, Heinrichs (8-3) recorded a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 win against Martinez (11-5) in No. 3 singles, White (7-3) posted a 7-6, 6-2 win against Chan (8-5) in No. 4 singles and Alberto Maza (7-4) secured a 6-1, 6-3 win against Toro (8-5) in No. 5 singles.
For the Prairie Stars, Clarke (13-5) turned in a 7-6, 6-3 victory against Montiero in No. 3 singles and Ayers (4-1) put together a 6-4, 6-3 win against Mackenzie Cox (1-1) in No. 6 singles.
The Prairie Stars begin their four-match Spring break trip. UIS opens with Christian Brothers University (5-11) on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Southaven, MS. The Prairie Stars then face off with the University of West Alabama (6-3) on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Livingston, AL.
UIS then invades to Pensacola, FL to battle with two opponents ranked in the ITA NCAA Division II national poll during the West Florida Tournament held at Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex. The Prairie Stars quarrel with No. 7 Saint Leo University (6-0) on Friday at 1 p.m. CT. UIS then challenges No. 1 University of West Florida (8-1) on Saturday at 8 a.m. CT.
In the latest ITA NCAA Division II South Region rankings, West Florida is ranked No. 1 and Saint Leo is ranked No. 5.
