By Justin St. Peter

The Warhawks men’s tennis team extended its win streak by winning four matches over the past weekend.
Sophomore Ben Shklyar was a big part of that, winning multiple doubles matches.
“I thought we played really well this weekend,” Shklyar said. “Overall, I think that we were on our ‘A’ game.”
The No.-28 ranked ‘Hawks (according to ncaa.com) began the weekend by playing in the WIAC Final Four. They traveled to Oshkosh on Friday, April 19, and beat the Titans handily 9-0.
On Saturday, they hosted UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire, who they beat 9-0 and 8-1, respectively, to win the title. The men’s team is independent from the WIAC, because there are only four teams. They still consider these three schools conference rivals.
On Sunday, they avenged last year’s 8-1 loss to the Kalamazoo Hornets. Ironically, the final score was flipped as the ’Hawks won 8-1.
“They [Kalamazoo] are a very strong team with a great tradition and several national championships,” said head coach Frank Barnes. “We only beat them once in school history a couple years ago.”
The ’Hawks improve their record to 15-11 overall. They are 11-0 at home.
Senior Mitch Osborne won on Sunday to become the team leader in wins at 21-8. Freshman Jake Humphries also recorded his 20th singles victory of the year.
Barnes said he was especially impressed by the doubles play.
“I am very happy with our doubles team especially,” Barnes said. “It was probably the best our doubles team has looked all year. We switched some guys around with their pairings a couple weeks ago, and it has worked.”
Shklyar also was happy with his performance in his singles and doubles matches.
“By the end of the weekend, I felt pretty good with my game,” Shklyar said. “I was able to keep it on cruise control throughout the weekend, so I can’t complain.”
The ’Hawks fared well throughout the brutal early schedule where they played multiple top-10 teams. With only four matches left before the NCAA tournament, the focus begins to shift to the NCAA tournament.
“We have a few big matches left,” Shklyar said. “We have done a pretty good job in clicking at the right time of the season, where everyone’s playing well, and a lot of team camaraderie. Good things are happening for us, and we are pretty optimistic going into the postseason.”
Barnes agrees.
“Luckily for us, our guys held tough and got experience, and now they are hitting their stride at the right time,” Barnes said. “If we play like we did against Kalamazoo in the NCAA, we will do well.”
The ’Hawks look to continue their quality play to finish the regular season this Sunday with a match at 10 a.m. against Coe College and a 2 p.m. clash with Elmhurst College.
“I think that we have worked really hard this last semester getting to where we are right now,” Shklyar said. “Our possibilities are endless.”