RESULTS
ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—The Bethel University men's tennis team took advantage of a beautiful day and home court in Tuesday's MIAC Playoff quarterfinal, as the No. 4-seeded Royals (18-5, 6-3 MIAC) rolled to a 6-3 win over No. 5 seed Saint John's (5-13, 4-5 MIAC). BU's match against the Johnnies was Bethel's first home match since 2010 and ironically enough, it was the team's first playoff win since the same year.
"I'm pretty stinking excited," commented head coach
Drew Fernelius. "It's hard to put into words how special today was and I couldn't be more proud of what our guys accomplished this season and today. Getting to host a playoff match was a significant goal for us when I started at Bethel and today was a measure of our growth and success."
The Royals got off to an exceptional start, winning all three doubles matches, which set the table for BU's triumph. No. 1 duo
Matt Schull and
Hunter Fernelius continued their 15-match win streak with an 8-5 win over SJU's Tim Larson and Jonah Punnoose.
Kolin Kiekhoefer and
Noah Ridgway followed almost immediately after with an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles.
Jakob Bartels and
Henry Morris then came back from a 5-6 deficit and won 8-6 at No. 3 doubles to win 8-6
"Getting off to a 3-0 start was key for us," said Fernelius. "I knew we needed at least two points in doubles play and getting Bartels and Henry to come back and win was icing on the cake. I owe a huge shout out to the men's soccer team, who came over and cheered on Jakob and our team at a critical point."
Getting two points in singles play to win and advance to the MIAC semifinals was easier said than done. No. 4 singles player
Jakob Bartels lost 7-5, 6-1 and then
Matt Schull dropped a close match at No. 1 singles by a final score of 7-5, 6-4.
But
Hunter Fernelius gave the Royals another point at No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 6-3 victory and then
Kolin Kiekhoefer sealed the deal with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) win at No. 2.
Noah Ridgway fell at No. 5 singles, but
Henry Morris pushed BU's total to six points with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 triumph at No. 6 singles.
With Tuesday's victory over SJU Bethel advances to the semifinal round of the MIAC Playoffs, where they'll meet top-seeded Gustavus on Thursday, May 4 at 3:30 p.m.
