WAVERLY, Iowa – The Nebraska Wesleyan men's tennis team achieved a program milestone Tuesday afternoon, defeating Wartburg College 4-2 in the American Rivers Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

The victory marks the first time in school history the Prairie Wolves have beaten the Knights since 2006, sending NWU to the semifinal round against top-seeded Luther College. This is also the Prairie Wolves first time advancing to the A-R-C semifinals in men's tennis since joining the league in 2017.

Nebraska Wesleyan (7-9) will face Luther (19-5) Wednesday at 4:00 PM in Decorah, Iowa.

How It Happened

The Prairie Wolves seized momentum early by capturing the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

The duo of Jacob Balfany and Sam Rademacher overwhelmed Wartburg's Cade Davis and Jeff Miller 6-2 at No. 1 doubles, while freshman Gavin Nichols and sophomore Tyler Blair secured a dramatic 7-6(7) tiebreaker win at No. 2 doubles against Landon Murch and Robert Matera.

In singles play, Balfany continued his dominance at the No. 1 position, dispatching Wartburg's Miller 6-1, 6-2 to give NWU a 2-0 lead. The senior captain improved to 6-9 this season at the top singles spot.

Wartburg answered with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles as Matera defeated Rademacher, and the Knights evened the match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles where Murch topped Glenn McChristian.

With the match tied 2-2, the Prairie Wolves responded emphatically. Nichols defeated Davis 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, and Blair clinched the historic victory with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Milan Lecic at No. 4 singles.

The No. 5 singles match between NWU's Ian Armbrust and Wartburg's Kyle Sehlin remained unfinished with Sehlin leading 6-3, 4-6, 3-1.

Notables

• The victory snaps a 10-match losing streak against Wartburg dating back to Nebraska Wesleyan's entrance into the American Rivers Conference in 2016.
• The victory has also earned NWU their first Semifinal birth since joining the A-R-C.
• Nebraska Wesleyan's top half of the lineup has been particularly strong, with Balfany, Nichols, and Blair combining for a 23-23 singles record this season.

Up Next

The Prairie Wolves now turn their attention to five-time defending conference champion Luther. The Norse defeated NWU 7-0 in their regular season meeting. Wednesday's semifinal match begins at 4:00 PM at Luther's Tennis Courts in Decorah, Iowa.