Luther captures All-Conference honors at IIAC individual tournament

The Luther College men’s tennis team dominated the all-conference honors at the league’s individual tournament held May 7-8 in Cedar Rapids.

To earn all-conference honors, an athlete must reach the quarterfinals of the 32-player Flight A singles tournament and the semifinals of the 16-team Flight A doubles tournament.

In Flight A Doubles, Utsab Rijal (‘10) and Scott Martin (‘10) defeated teammates Mark Mateski (‘10) and Harrison Whiteley (‘11) 10-6 to claim third place. Mateski and Whiteley earned all-conference honors for the first time of their careers, while Martin is now a two-time, all-conference performer.

Rijal became the first Luther player to earn all-conference honors three times since the Flight A doubles tournament format started in 1998. Rijal also became Luther’s all-time leader for doubles victories, with a career mark of 85-34. Rijal passed Brad Nelson, who tallied a mark of 83-39 from 2004-08.

Rijal, Whiteley and Mateski also earned all-conference honors in singles play. All three advanced to the quarterfinals of the 32-player bracket. Whiteley’s honors were his third, while Rijal’s were his second and Mateski earned all-conference honors for the first time.

Scott Sundstrom (‘12), the 2009 IIAC Flight A champion, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over teammate Rijal but withdrew from the tournament due to an injury. He is now a two-time All-Conference performer.

Norse will travel to St. Louis
The NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Committee has selected the 42 teams that will participate in the NCAA Division III National Tennis Championships.

Luther College was an automatic qualifier for the national tournament after capturing a record 30th Iowa Conference championship May 6. Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., will host the first, second and third rounds Friday-Sunday, May 14-16.

The teams will play a single-elimination tournament, with the first, second and third rounds played at eight regional sites.

On Friday, May 14, Luther (33-8) will play Westminster University (Mo.) (14-2) in the first round at 2:00 p.m. The winner will play Kalamazoo College (Mich.) on Saturday with a time to be determined.