OWATTONNA, Min. - The Carroll University men's tennis team faced a challenging pair of matches over the weekend in Minnesota, taking on perennial regional powers Carleton and St. Olaf on consecutive days. Despite strong individual performances, the Pioneers dropped both matches, falling 7–0 to Carleton on Saturday before bouncing back with a highly competitive 4–3 loss to St. Olaf on Sunday.

Saturday vs. Carleton – L, 7–0

Carroll opened the weekend against a well-established Carleton squad known for its consistency and depth. The Knights controlled the doubles point with three 6–2 victories across the board, despite competitive stretches from all Pioneer pairings.

In singles play, the Pioneers played well but were fell across the board to a strong Carleton team. Andrew LaBelle pushed Carleton's top player to a third-set super-tiebreak, ultimately falling 2–6, 6–4, [8–10]. David Eman also stretched his match to the limit at No. 5 singles in a 6–4, 6–7(9), [9–11] battle. While Carroll couldn't break into the win column, the match featured several encouraging individual performances against one of the region's strongest programs.

Sunday vs. St. Olaf – L, 4–3

Carroll bounced back with tremendous competitiveness less than 24 hours later, narrowly falling 4–3 in a match that came down to late-court singles results.

The Pioneers earned a 2–1 lead after doubles, highlighted by a commanding 6–3 win from Ulrik Gellein and Ryan LaBelle at No. 1 doubles and a 6–4 victory at the No. 3 pairing of Felix Persson and Layton Carls.

In singles, Felix Persson delivered one of the strongest performances of the weekend, rolling to a 6–1, 6–3 win at No. 4. Nate Christensen followed with a dominant 6–4, 6–0 victory at the No. 6 spot to keep Carroll in contention.

Despite several tight sets across the lineup, St. Olaf secured the remaining courts to edge out the 4–3 win. In what ended up being deciding match, Ulrik Gellein lost a thriller 7-5, 5-7, 6-10 but competed admirably. 

Weekend Summary

Across two days, the Pioneers gained valuable experience against high-quality regional opponents. Carroll's doubles improvement, depth at the bottom of the singles lineup, and multiple strong individual showings highlight a team trending upward as the spring season continues.Their next matches come next Saturday as they will take on Hamline University at 11:30am followed by St. Norbert College at 4pm.