The St. Edward’s men’s tennis team defeated the Cardinals of Incarnate Word Saturday morning in the Heartland Conference Championship, 5-2. The win give the Hilltoppers their sixth straight victory and places the team as a host for the South Central Regional Tournament.
St. Edward’s began with a tough loss in the No. 1 doubles match as junior Mick Walter and senior Boris Barrios were defeated by Francisco Segura and Jose Arizpe, 8-0. The Hilltoppers quickly rebounded as sophomore Ned Boone and senior Brett Powers downed Maxime Moreau and Alex Wieland, 8-4 in the No. 2 match. Senior duo of Justin Raiti and Bernie Lancaster gave the Hilltoppers the lead as they defeated Carlos Olvera and Aidan DeLeon, 8-6.
In singles action, Powers was downed in the No. 2 match by Moreau, 6-2, 6-4, evening the match at 2-2. The Hilltoppers bounced back as three seniors pushed their matches to three sets to take the three necessary points for the Hilltoppers. Raiti defeated Arizpe in the No. 3 match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the No. 5 match, Barrios defeated Olvera, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. In the No. 6 match, Lancaster clinched the match as he defeated David Ballenger, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Hilltopper Head Coach Russell Sterns felt great about the victory and couldn’t be happier by stating, “Incarnate Word has a great team, the matches were so close that we split five out of six meaning the team really pulled through, especially our seniors. This gives us a six game win streak giving us the opportunity to host a regional.”
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Friday May 7th as they host the South Central Regional Tournament.