Aaron Kubiak serves during his singles match. The Tommie men won five of six singles matches. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Fourth singles player Scott Wall slices a shot over the net. Wall defeated Wilson Merrell 7-6 and 6-4 on Saturday, winning his match. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Junior singles player Luke Elifson watches his long shot go out of bounds. Elifson transferred from South Dakota State University last year; this is his second year playing for the St. Thomas. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Singles player Brady Radermacher follows through on a forehand shot. Radermacher lost 7-5 and 6-1 in his singles match on Saturday. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Elifson reaches for the ball. During the 2015 season, The junior was named all-conference in singles and doubles for men’s tennis. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
St. Thomas defeated Macalaster College 7-2 on Saturday at the St. Paul Academy courts. St. Thomas is 11-3 overall and 7-2 MIAC, while Macalaster is 10-8 overall and 5-4 MIAC. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Elifson celebrates a hard-fought point during his second set. Elifson won his sets 6-3 and 6-2 against Josh Doyle of Macalaster. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
St. Thomas’ first doubles partners Scott Wall (left) and Luke Elifson (right) shake hands with Macalaster players after a match. Wall and Elifson lost 8-6 against Macalaster’s first doubles partners Josh Doyle (left) and Brian Utz (right). (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Wall calls the point served by Elifson. St. Thomas won two out of three doubles matches Saturday. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Muench, fifth singles player, goes up to the net for a volley. The senior defeated Macalester’s Matt Yang 7-5 and 6-3. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
First-year doubles partners Luke Utrie (left) and Brandon Schuchard (right) battle Macalaster during Saturday’s game. St. Thomas ended its ten-game winning streak on Thursday against Carleton, although the team still qualified for the MIAC playoffs. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
Radermacher (left) and Allen-Michael Muench (right) fist bump between a serve. Muench and Radermacher won Saturday’s doubles match 8-4. (Natalie Hall/TommieMedia)
The men’s tennis team battled windy conditions Saturday afternoon, as it took a 7-2 victory over Macalester College and sealed third-place in the regular season conference standings.
Going into the match, coach Terry Peck anticipated a challenge.
“Macalester has one of their all-time best teams and they are fighting for a playoff position,” Peck said.
The Tommies (11-3 overall, 7-2 MIAC) won two of their three games in doubles. Seniors Allen-Michael Muench and Brady Radermacher defeated sophomore Aidan Tirpak and junior Hardt Bergmann of Macalester 8-4. With the doubles score tied 1-1, junior Burke Anderson and sophomore Ben Wait gave up a lead but came out on top, winning 9-7.
St. Thomas junior Tom Runde said the doubles wins could help the team later on.
“I think that’s a nice advantage and good momentum going into singles,” Runda said.
Peck added that Saturday’s matchup was crucial preparation for the MIAC tournament, which begins Wednesday.
“We’ve made it into the playoffs already,” Peck said, “Basically this is some real good practice for us to get ready for the conference tournament where everybody has a chance.”
Additionally, the Tommies won five of six singles matches against the Scots (10-8 overall, 5-4 MIAC).
Muench, Anderson and Wait, along with juniors Scott Wall and Luke Elifson, all won their singles matches for St. Thomas.
Runde said he is proud of his teammates.
“It’s the best team I’ve had … in my three years here,” Runde said.
Looking to the playoffs, Runde said he anticipates “the chance to see how far we can get in the tournament and make a little bit of noise.”
The Tommies will head to Northfield to square off with Carleton in the conference tournament semifinals Friday afternoon.
Emily Sweeney can be contacted at swee4225@stthomas.edu.