MARION, Ind. – Indiana Wesleyan University men’s tennis fell a bit short in their quest for a second straight Crossroads League Tournament championship on Saturday. No. 2-seed Marian (Ind.) pulled out a tightly contested 5-3 win over Indiana Wesleyan for the league tournament title and the automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament.

MATCH VITALS

Score:  Marian def. Indiana Wesleyan, 5-3
Seeds:  Indiana Wesleyan – No. 1   |   Marian – No. 2
Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 15-1   |   Marian 13-1  
Location:   Sutter Tennis Center   |   Indiana Wesleyan University   |   Marion, Indiana 

DOUBLES

No. 1:  Eli Steiner/Grant Esposito (IWU) def. Diogo Jesus/Hunter Sylvester (MU) 8-1
No. 2:  Ian Deiters/Nathan Bogle (MU) def. Diego Freire/Riley Worland (IWU) 8-3
No. 3:  Noah Roberts/Alex Whittenbaum (MU) def. Tyler Abbott/Andrew Block (IWU) 8-4
 

SINGLES

No. 1:  Eli Steiner (IWU) def. Diogo Jesus (MU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 2:  Hunter Sylvester (MU) def. Diego Freire (IWU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 3:  Grant Esposito (IWU) def. Nathan Bogle (MU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4:  Camilo Mesa (MU) def. Riley Worland(IWU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5:  Ian Deiters (MU) def. Tyler Abbott (IWU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 6:  Andrew Block (IWU) vs. Noah Roberts (MU) 3-6, 2-4 [unfinished]
 

COACH SHIGLEY SAYS…

“The guys lost a tough battle tonight against a terrific Marian team. It was a really good match and some awesome tennis, but we came up a little short. The bottom line is they were just better than us today. It was hard starting the match outdoors and then having to move it indoors due to the bad weather. Eli and Espo continued to play great and got us our three points. However, I am super proud of the courage and fight in our men and even more proud of their poise in defat and how they prayed for their opponents even in a loss. It’s easy to pay for someone when you win but much tougher when you lose. It just shows the strong character of the men on this team. Next up, we will need to play great tennis in the spring to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament in May.”
 

UP NEXT FOR MEN’S TENNIS

Indiana Wesleyan ends the fall season with a 15-1 record. IWU returns to action this spring.