MADISON, Wis. – Grinnell College's Michael Cole '12 and Colin Johnson '13 each won their second Midwest Conference doubles titles at the men's league tennis meet Sunday in the Nielsen Center.

Cole (upper left) teamed up with Elliott Czarnecki '15 (upper right) to win the No. 1 flight, while Johnson (lower left) and Aaron Lapkin '15 (lower right) won at No. 3. Cole and Johnson combined to win the No. 3 doubles title in 2010.

Cole and Czarnecki began the day with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Erik Hane and Walter Palmer of Knox College and then defeated Ryan Kreis and Anthony Warren of Lake Forest College 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. In the title match, they rolled past Derek Harrington and Nick Acosta of St. Norbert College 6-1, 6-4.

Cole and Lapkin topped Craig Sherwood and Jeremy Andereck of Lawrence University 6-1, 6-1 and then knocked off Jonathan Ng and David Ham of Knox 6-3, 6-3. In the championship match, they rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Chris Franco and Tyler Lampe of Monmouth College.

At the No. 2 spot, Grinnell's Ishan Bhadkamkar '13 and Benjamin Charney '15 lost 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 to St. Norbert's Tim Hartwick and Matt Lobeck in the first round. In the consolation semifinals, they lost by default to Derrick Winterhack and Sam Ewing of Ripon College.

“The Midwest Conference is deeper with more talent in more teams than I've ever seen, so therefore the flighted singles and doubles championships were very tough,” said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. “But overall, when Grinnell has a chance to compete against better programs, we're pleased for our program.”

“Our No. 3 doubles team was the top seed and they played like it all day,” he added. “I was really pleased with the way they took our coaching and dominated play at the net. Hopefully this success will parlay into more success when we go to the NCAA Tournament.

“As a coach, you always want to see your seniors end on a great note and I was able to see Michael Cole play perhaps the best doubles of his career, certainly his best of the season, as he and Elliott claimed the No. 1 title,” Hamilton continued. “As our captain, Michael has been a great leader all season and it is gratifying to see a player like him finish his Midwest Conference career on a high note.”

Hamilton also dished out praise for Bhadkamkar and Conor Cunningham '15, who won the No. 4 and 6 singles titles, respectively, on Saturday.

“Coming away with two singles championships with Ishan and Conor was a nice capstone to our success all season in the bottom of our lineup,” Hamilton said. “I'm very pleased Ishan was able to stay steady, as he has all year, by claiming the third singles championship in his career. Conor has moved in and out of our singles lineup throughout the season, He really solidified his game on our spring trip break and has been a valuable player at the 6 spot the rest of the month of April. For him to gain momentum and finish with a league singles title is a testament to his focus.”

Now, Grinnell awaits to learn its opponent in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.