Junior newcomer Justin Mendez finished runner-up at No. 3 singles, highlighting a solid weekend for the Rams at the Midwest Conference Men’s Tennis Individual Championships at Hitters SportsPlex.
The Rams landed five semifinalists in Saturday’s singles competition. They advanced two doubles teams to the semifinals on Sunday.
Mendez, seeded third in the No. 3 singles flight, opened with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Lawrence’s Dylan Delgado. Mendez then upended second-seeded Zach Cho of Lake Forest in the semis – 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.
In the championship match, Mendez came up short 6-2, 6-2 to Grinnell’s Jonah Gilmore.
Sophomore No. 1 singles player Alexander Hadler-Strumlauf went 1-1 in his flight, falling 6-3, 7-6 in the semis. He concluded a fine singles campaign at 15-7 overall.
Sophomore Chris Penas-Hull at No. 2, freshman Edwin Holyoake at No. 5 and freshman Orion Mason at No. 6 all finished 1-1 and were eliminated in the semis.
In No. 1 doubles action, Cornell’s third-seeded Hadler-Strumlauf and Mendez won 8-0 in the opening round before bowing out 8-3 to Grinnell in the semis.
Penas-Hull and Holyoake also reached the semis at No. 2 doubles with an opening 8-2 victory. They lost 8-1 to Grinnell in the next round.
On Friday, the Rams dropped a 5-0 semifinal decision to eventual champion Grinnell in the MWC Team Tournament. Cornell closed its dual season at 9-13 overall under first-year head coach Trent Schneider.
In the match against Grinnell, the Rams won five total games in the five completed matches against Grinnell, which has claimed the past 17 MWC team titles. This was Cornell’s fourth appearance in the past five MWC Team Tournaments.
Cornell’s No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Alexander Hadler-Strumlauf and junior Justin Mendez provided the most resistance, falling 8-3 to Bowen Mince and Sam Rudenberg. Cornell’s pair moved to 9-9 on the season.
Penas-Hull and Holyoake lost 8-0 at No. 2 doubles, while No. 3 tandem Orion Mason and Ravi Parekh dropped an 8-1 decision.