Road-weary Storm bring season to a close

The Simpson men's tennis team couldn't come away with a win after a weekend road trip that took the team from one end of the state to the other, bringing the 2014-15 season to a close.

The Storm (4-16, 1-6 Iowa Conference) dropped 9-0 decisions at 19th-ranked Luther and Wartburg on Saturday before cutting across the state to Storm Lake on Sunday. Simpson lost 7-2 to Buena Vista to close the weekend 0-3.

Simpson failed to qualify for the IIAC Team Tournament, which will be held this weekend in Cedar Rapids.

"Everyone stepped up and worked hard this season," head coach TJ Cox said. "This is a close knit and fun group of guys who stuck together through some tough losses. I'm really proud of this team and I feel like we improved even though our record doesn't reflect it."

Simpson picked up one singles and one doubles win against the Beavers. Connor Barnard earned a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 2 singles while the duo of Geoff Converse and Peter Reitgraf picked up an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles.

The Storm will return a strong nucleus in 2015-16, losing one senior - Jeff Armstrong - due to graduation. 

"We are definitely looking forward to next season," Cox said. "We have most of our team coming back and will add some promising newcomers."