MADISON, Wis. – Grinnell added to its men’s tennis championship record with a 5-2 victory over Monmouth in the team tournament of the 2012 Midwest Conference Men’s Tennis Championships. The team championship is Grinnell’s ninth straight and 15th overall. 

The championship match was a much closer contest than the final score indicated but it was the Pioneers who were able to overcome an early deficit and triumph. Monmouth grabbed a quick 2-1 lead after the doubles portion with the No. 1 flight of David Johnson and Dave Stewart picked up an 8-6 victory over Elliot Czarnecki and Michael Cole while Parker Featherston and Chris Utterback defeated Ishan Bhadkamkar and Ben Charney 8-1. Grinnell tallied a doubles win with Colin Johnson and Aaron Lapkin took an 8-2 decision over the Monmouth pairing of Chris Franco and Tyler Lampe.

After the doubles competition it was all Grinnell as they won singles matches in flights three through six to take home the title. Daniel Nellis defeated Stewart 7-6, 6-2 in the No. 3 flight while Bhadkamkar (No. 4, 6-2, 6-1 over Featherson) and Charney (No. 6, 6-4, 6-1 over Lampe) each picked up a win to avenge the loss in their doubles match. Charlie Wilhelm earned the other much needed win for Grinnell when he downed Uteerback 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 5 flight.

Grinnell earned a spot in the championship game by defeating St. Norbert earlier in the day while Monmouth downed Carroll. The Pioneers won by a 5-0 margin while Monmouth defeated Carroll 5-2. Grinnell ends the regular season with a 24-6 record while Monmouth finished with a 14-11 mark. With the championship Grinnell earns the Midwest Conference automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

The championship weekend continues through the weekend as the singles champions will be crowned on Saturday and the doubles champions will be decided on Sunday at the Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, Wis.
 

Grinnell Head Coach Andy Hamilton talks about the win:

Grinnell senior Michael Cole discusses the win: