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Henry Park
Cory Hall
0
Illinois College ICM (13-9)
5
Winner Grinnell College GCM (18-5)
Illinois College ICM
(13-9)
0
Final
5
Grinnell College GCM
(18-5)
Winner
4
Winner Lake Forest LFC (16-6)
3
Grinnell College GCM (18-6)
Winner
Lake Forest LFC
(16-6)
4
Final
3
Grinnell College GCM
(18-6)

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell men's tennis team loses nail-biter to Lake Forest in MWC Tourney championship match

MADISON, Wis. – Anyone looking for a long and grueling matchup between the Grinnell College and Lake Forest College men's tennis teams in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship got exactly what they expected.

The battle of nationally-ranked teams at the Nielsen Tennis Center was tight throughout, with Lake Forest winning the finals singles match to break a tie and eke out a 4-3 victory.  Lake Forest, ranked 45th nationally, earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Grinnell, ranked 19th, fell to 18-6 while the Foresters improved to 16-6.
 
Lake Forest shot out to the early lead, grabbing the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3. Grinnell did win at No. 2 doubles, as Maxi Gutbezahl '29 and Alex Doane '28 earned a 7-5 decision.

Then it was on to singles where Grinnell earned victories with Gutbezahl at No. 2 (6-3, 6-3), Henry Park '28 at No. 4 (6-4, 6-0) and Gervase Ngo '28 at No. 6 (6-2, 6-3). Devansh Punjabi '29 provided a gallant effort at No. 5 singles, rallying multiple times before losing a three-set nail-biter.
 
Grinnell began the day by shutting out Illinois College 5-0 in the semifinals. The win was the Pioneers' 45th shutout against a conference opponent in their last 53 matches.

The Pioneers saw Albert Bostoen '26 and Lucas Willett '26 earn a 6-2 victory at No. 2 doubles and Gutbezahl and Doane post a 6-0 decision at No. 2. Ngo and Garvin Murray '29 led 3-2 at No. 3 doubles before the match was halted.

In singles, Grinnell got wins from Gutbezahl at No. 1 (6-0, 6-2), Park at No. 2 (6-2, 6-1), Punjabi at No. 3 (6-2, 6-0) and Aman Kothari '28 at No. 5 (6-2, 6-1). In matches that were halted after Grinnell clinched, Ngo led his foe 6-2, 5-0 at No. 4 singles and Josh Kruger '29 was up 6-0, 5-2.

The tournament now moves to individual play on Saturday and Sunday.
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