Feb. 23, 2013

Box Score

ST. PETER, MN - The seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins men's tennis team rallied from a 2-1 deficit after doubles to take down 12th-ranked NC Wesleyan, 6-3, in the consolation semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Saturday morning. Hopkins (2-1) will now face host Gustavus Adolphus in the fifth-place match Saturday night.

Seniors Andy Hersh and Jeff Kamei opened the match with an 8-3 win over Johan Ljungdahl and Peter Hviid at second doubles. Mikhail Konnov and Marcus Pola tied the match up as the pair defeated freshman Chris Jou and sophomore Ben Hwang, 8-3, at third. Robert Kjellberg and Artsiom Prostak then put the Battling Bishops on top with an 8-4 win over sophomores Tanner Brown and Erik Lim.

Hwang took the first singles point in a three-set come-from-behind win to tie the match at two apiece. He lost the first set 6-3 to Ljungdahl at third singles, but rebounded to win the second and third sets by identical 6-3 scores. Brown followed with a three-set win over Prostak at second to push Hopkins on top 3-2. He won the first set, 6-1, but Prostak forced a deciding set with a 6-3 win in the second. Brown prevailed, 6-3, in the third set to win the match. Shortly after, Kjellberg beat Hersh, 6-3, 7-6 (4) at first to pull the Bishops even in the match.

Hopkins would go on to win the last three singles matches to take the win. Sophomore Noah Joachim gave Hopkins a 4-3 lead with a 6-4, 6-0 win at sixth over Pola. Sophomore Jensen Reiter then clinched the win at fourth by beating Hviid, 6-4, 7-6 (3). At fifth, Lim beat Konnov, 6-1, in the first set, but the Bishop answered with a 6-4 win in the second to force a deciding set. Reiter sealed the win for the Blue Jays at fourth, so with Lim up 3-1 in the third set, the match was called.

Hopkins will take on 25th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday night. The match was scheduled to start at 7:30 pm CST, but was delayed due to the Emory-Trinity University semifinal. Live stats are available here.