Men split weekend home tournament

As a team hoping to make a deep run in the NCAA Championships, the Gophers men’s tennis team suddenly found itself in a must-win situation this weekend at the Baseline Tennis Center.

After a 5-2 loss to No. 16 Louisville Friday, No. 37 Minnesota rebounded Sunday for a 7-0 win over St. Mary’s (Calif.).

The Gophers (2-3) entered the weekend following losses to a premier program in No. 15 Wake Forest and a conference rival in No. 36 Michigan.

Friday’s match against the Cardinals was an equally tough test, but Minnesota started strong.

The Gophers opened with a sweep of the Cardinals in doubles, winning three matches by an 8-5 score. With one point for sweeping doubles, Minnesota needed to win three of six singles matches to claim a win over Louisville, which featured three players ranked in the top 100 nationally. The Cardinals dominated the Gophers from start to finish, winning five of six singles matches.

“In singles, everyone is not quite there yet,” junior Tobias Wernet said. “It’s the beginning of the season; we all can play better.”

Minnesota’s off day Saturday was an opportunity to to study their technique in preparation for Sunday’s match with St. Mary’s, which carried increased importance after the loss to Louisville.

“For the standard that we want to carry this year, this was a must-win,” Minnesota head coach Geoff Young said.

The Gophers hoped to snap a three-match losing streak against a St. Mary’s team that entered the contest winless in five matches this season.

“We knew this was a little bit worse team than Louisville, but it was still tough to come up and do our best because we had that pressure of [knowing] we had to win this match,” senior Dino Bilankov said.

The Gophers again dominated doubles, winning all three matches, 8-3, 8-1 and 8-2.

Young’s squad then rebounded from its singles struggles Friday by winning all six matches against an overmatched Gaels team.

“I still missed forehands, but I served better,” said Wernet, who defeated the Gaels’ Lucas Tirelli 6-3, 7-5. “That video analysis yesterday helped me a lot to do those things right. That win was really important today.”

Young credited Wernet for his ability to bounce back after a loss Friday.

“He did not do as well as he would’ve liked against Louisville,” Young said. “He made some adjustments with his serve and served well, and the rest of his game followed.”

Bilankov also performed well Sunday. The senior bested the Gaels’ Sherif Hamdy 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Minnesota had already clinched the team victory, but Bilankov sought to provide a boost of morale after his Friday loss.

“Looking from the side, I had no reason to win my match,” Bilankov said. “I was down 5-3, I could just give up and we’d still win the match, but I really tried to make sure that I battled until the end, and it turned out to be good.”

While the Gophers have already had a three-game losing streak this season, Young was happy with how his team bounced back Sunday.

“This was not as high-level as the teams we’ve been playing, and we went through them pretty quick,” Young said.

Minnesota is off next week before hosting Drake Feb. 20.