Men’s tennis defeats Beavers, Spartans to wrap season

DUBUQUE, Iowa – In its final weekend of competition, the Simpson College men's tennis team went 2-1 with American Rivers Conference wins over Buena Vista and Dubuque.

The Storm (3-12, 2-6 A-R-C) defeated the Beavers (6-10, 1-5 A-R-C) in a tight 5-4 match on Friday night before taking down Dubuque (4-14, 0-8 A-R-C) in a 7-2 match on Saturday. Simpson's season closed with an 8-1 loss to Loras (10-8, 4-3 A-R-C).

Against the Beavers, Simpson fell behind 4-2 but won its final three singles matches to earn the come-from-behind win. Caleb Vasconez won a big tiebreaker at the No. 1 slot to start the rally and Aaron Price was victorious at No. 3 to tie the match. Drake Downard then propelled his team to the victory with wins in sets two and three at No. 5 singles, his third-straight win in A-R-C action.

On Saturday, Price won both of his singles matches and teamed up with Vasconez to win one of the Storm's two doubles matches against Dubuque. The Storm claimed all but one match in singles competition with the Spartans. Peter Walkwitz and Downard earned three-set victories, while Price, Ethan Humble and Jake Brend won in straight sets.

Match 1: Simpson 5, Buena Vista 4
Singles competition
1. Caleb Vasconez (SIMM) def. Danny Kramer, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
2. Peter Walkwitz (SIMM) def. Brenden Schlader, 6-3, 6-2
3. Aaron Price (SIMM) def. Dalton Pregon, 6-2, 7-6
4. Brock Bruns (BVUM) def. Ethan Humble, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. Drake Downard (SIMM) def. Diego Diaz, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Ryan Webb (BVUM) def. Chase Henry, 6-0, 1-6, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Dalton Pregon/Danny Kramer (BVUM) def. Caleb Vasconez/Aaron Price, 8-6
2. Peter Walkwitz/Ethan Humble (SIMM) def. Brenden Schlader/Diego Diaz, 8-3
3. Ryan Webb/Benjamin Austin (BVUM) def. Chase Henry/Jake Brend, 8-2

Match 2: Simpson 7, Dubuque 2
Singles competition
1. Milan Zivkovic (DBQM) def. Caleb Vasconez, 6-1, 6-0
2. Peter Walkwitz (SIMM) def. Stefan Zrnic, 6-1, 4-6, 10-7
3. Aaron Price (SIMM) def. Ryan Kiddle, 6-1, 6-3
4. Ethan Humble (SIMM) def. Josh Husemann, 6-2, 6-2
5. Drake Downard (SIMM) def. Brady McIntyre, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. Jake Brend (SIMM) def. Dawson Freese, 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Caleb Vasconez/Aaron Price (SIMM) def. Stefan Zrnic/Josh Husemann, 8-7 (7-3)
2. Milan Zivkovic/Ryan Kiddle (DBQM) def. Ethan Humble/Peter Walkwitz, 8-4
3. Jake Brend/Drake Downard (SIMM) def. Brady McIntyre/Dawson Freese, 8-5

Match 3: Loras 8, Simpson 1
Singles competition
1. Kevin Blomquist (LOR) def. Caleb Vasconez, 6-1, 6-2
2. Thomas Kampmier (LOR) def. Peter Walkwitz, 5-7, 6-4, 10-8
3. Aaron Price (SIMM) def. Tommy Linkenheld, 6-4, 7-5
4. Kareem Kassas (LOR) def. Ethan Humble, 6-4, 6-2
5. Konnor Barth (LOR) def. Drake Downard, 6-1, 6-0
6. Eian Coad (LOR) def. Jake Brend, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Kevin Blomquist/Thomas Kampmier (LOR) def. Caleb Vasconez/Aaron Price, 8-4
2. Tommy Linkenheld/Konnor Barth (LOR) def. Peter Walkwitz/Ethan Humble, 8-7
3. Sean Gelski/Kareem Kassas (LOR) def. Drake Downard/Jake Brend, 8-4