The men’s tennis team suffered three losses to fall to 6-7 on the season. The Bills faced IUPUI, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Quincy.
SLU faced IUPUI on March 3 in Indianapolis, Ind. and lost, 4-1. IUPUI took the doubles victory to head into singles play with a 1-0 advantage. Junior David Ferragut was the sole victor for the Billikens on the day, defeating Jac Newis, 6-2, 6-1. IUPUI locked in wins at the fourth and sixth spots, and the final match was a tight three-set showdown at the third spot. Junior John Nogalski could not pull off the win to keep the Bills in the game despite a second set comeback. He lost the match to Steven Christie, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
The men started out the match against Illinois State on March 5 a little stronger despite a 4-2 loss. Ferragut and junior Juan Calero defeated Dylan Steffens and Urh Krjnc Domiter, 6-0. However, the other two SLU teams were unable to come out on top to give the Billikens the doubles point. Again, Ferragut was the only SLU player to win his singles match. He won, 7-5, 6-4, over Domiter. The other Billikens lost in straight sets, but freshman Justin Nogalski came close to a victory in a three-set loss to Peter Foersom, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The Billikens traveled to Carbondale, Ill. to take on Southern Illinois on March 9, dropping the match, 4-0. The men were unsuccessful in doubles play, and Southern Illinois made quick work of the singles matches, claiming victories at the second, third and sixth positions. Calero lost to Wilder Pimentel, 6-4, 6-3; John Nogalski lost to Michal Kianicka, 6-0, 6-0; and Justin Nogalski lost to Param Pun, 6-4, 6-3.
The men are on the back end of their season, with just four regular season matches left. They will take on Arkansas on March 25 in Fayetteville, Ark. at 6 p.m. On March 30, they will face UMKC at 2 p.m. in Kansas City, Mo. Their last two matches of the season will be at their home court, Dwight Davis Tennis Center, against Lewis and Clark Community College on April 5 at 3 p.m. and William Woods University on April 13 at 2 p.m.
