Westminster Men's Tennis Wins Match in NCAA First Round Loss

ST. LOUIS - The Westminster College men's tennis squad was looking for its first individual singles or doubles win, and its first team win in its fifth trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships. The sixth-seeded Blue Jays (11-7) got a doubles victory, but came up short as a team, falling 5-1 to third-seeded University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Friday at Washington University in St. Louis.

After falling behind 2-0 in doubles competition, senior Chris Claypool and sophomore Anthony Becker made Westminster men's tennis history by winning the #1 doubles match 9-7. That win left the Blue Jays four wins from the team victory. However, Wisconsin-Whitewater (27-5) won three singles matches to secure the team win and advance to Saturday's semi-final match against second-seeded Whitman College.

Wisconsin-Whitewater 5, Westminster (Mo.) 1
May 13, 2011 at St. Louis, Mo.
Singles competition
1. Andrew Bayliss (UWW) vs. Tony Stephenson (WCMT) 6-1, 5-0, unfinished
2. Andy McGlashen (UWW) vs. Chris Claypool (WCMT) 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
3. Mitch Osborne (UWW) def. Anthony Becker (WCMT) 6-1, 6-3
4. Byron Balkin (UWW) vs. Alec Belden (WCMT) 6-7 (1-7), unfinished
5. Ethan Niquet (UWW) def. Kyle Tolbert (WCMT) 6-1, 6-0
6. Erik Scanlan (UWW) def. David Berry (WCMT) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Claypool/Becker (WCMT) def. Balkin/Osborne (UWW) 9-7
2. Niquet/Bayliss (UWW) def. Stephenson/Belden (WCMT) 8-5
3. Scanlan/Charlie Miller (UWW) def. Tolbert/Berry (WCMT) 8-4
Match Notes:
Westminster (Mo.) 11-7
Wisconsin-Whitewater 27-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,5,3)

NCAA Division III Men's Central
Region Tennis Championships
Washington University
St. Louis, Mo.
Friday, May 13
10:00 a.m. - #4 Luther 5, #5 Earlham 0
2:00 p.m. - #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater 5, #6 Westminster 1
Saturday, May 14
10:00 a.m. - #1 Washington U. vs. Luther
2:00 p.m. - #2 Whitman vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater
Sunday, May 15
12:00 p.m. - Regional Championship

Courtesy Westminster College (Mo.) sports information
Photo courtesy Washington University-St. Louis sports information