Babson Park, Fla. – In a 51/2 hour marathon match at the Azalea Lane Tennis Center in Winter Park, the WIU Warriors defeated Aquinas College (MI), 5-4.
Going into the match the Warriors were ranked 16th and Aquinas 25th on the NAIA National Rankings. With the win, Webbers 5th in a row, the Warriors record improves to 7-3.
The Warriors found themselves down 2-1 after doubles play. Winning the only match for WIU was the #1 tandem of Philippe Andermatt and Caio Cardoso, 8-5.
Winning in singles for Webber were: #1 Andermatt, 6-7, 6-4, 6-0; #2 Juuso Tapaneinen, 6-2, 7-6; #4 Thiago Marion, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1; and #5 Joonas Jalkenen, 6-4, 6-4.
Webber was still playing without their #1 player, Rafael Teixeira. Coach Bill Heath, also, discovered the Warriors have lost their #5 player for the remainder of the season due to a stress fracture in his foot.
“This was a very gutsy win for our team as Aquinas was a handful for us today,” stated Coach Heath.
“We are having to play with a patchwork line-up at the moment, with three kids with the flu, but I admire the effort that we are getting from our players,” added Heath