Feb. 4, 2015 By Ryan Altman
The UW-Whitewater men’s tennis team suffered its third loss of the season against Division I UW-Green Bay on Sunday.
The Warhawks (0-3), ranked No. 25 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, put up a fight in several matches at the Western Racket Club in Green Bay, but fell short en route to a 7-0 defeat.
The ’Hawks were scheduled to play an afternoon match against NAIA’s Cardinal Stritch University, but the game was canceled due to inclement weather.
In Sunday’s more competitive matches against the Phoenix (3-2), No. 2 singles Michael Treis was defeated 5-7, 1-6, while No. 3 singles Zane Navratil was edged 5-7, 3-6.
Treis and Navratil held 5-4 leads while on serve during the first set, but were unable to hold off their UW-Green Bay counterparts.
Head coach Frank Barnes complimented UW-Green Bay’s talent, but also felt his team might have underachieved.
“They are probably the best Division I team we’ve played this season,” Barnes said. “We put out a strong lineup, and I thought [some of the matches] could have possibly been closer.”
The Phoenix jumped out with an early lead on the ’Hawks, sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the lone doubles point.
Treis and senior Ben Shklyar lost 3-6 to UW-Green Bay’s Michael Tenzer and Howard Scott at No. 1 doubles, while junior Jake Humphreys and senior Cam Laktash also dropped their match at No. 2 doubles, 3-6.
Sophomores Scott Butler and Martin Beck suffered a 2-6 setback at No. 3 doubles.
In other singles play, No. 6 Laktash won six games against Jorge Gonzalez Soler, but was defeated 4-6, 2-6. No. 4 Rithwik Rajshekhar Raman fell 2-6, 3-6.
At No. 1 singles, Humphreys was defeated 2-6, 1-6 by the Phoenix’s Leopold Gomez Islinger.
The next stretch of matches comes against a handful of D-III opponents, and Barnes wants this section of the schedule to help get the ’Hawks to get back on track.
“Our schedule gets a little bit easier, so we’re looking to develop our confidence and get back to our winning ways,” Barnes said.
The ’Hawks will get their first taste of WIAC play against UW-Oshkosh on Feb.7, followed by a second match the same day versus Lake Forest College at Four Lakes Athletic Club in Elkhorn.
