Third straight loss highlights singles struggles

The No. 36 Gophers men’s tennis team lost its third consecutive match Saturday in a 6-1 defeat at No. 29 Louisville.

After claiming the lone doubles point, Minnesota lost all six singles matches to fall to 1-3 on the season.

Phillip Arndt lost at No. 1 singles to 113th-ranked Andrew Carter by a score of 6-2, 6-1.

Minnesota’s only ranked singles player — No. 118 Leandro Toledo at second singles — fell 7-6, 7-5 to Sebastian Stiefelmeyer.

All six of the Gophers’ singles players lost the first set, and the team looked dangerously close to dropping all 12 sets in singles play. But Rok Bonin (third singles) and Michael Sicora (fifth singles) each fought back to force a third set — only to lose it.

Bonin, who had contributed to the Gophers’ win at No. 1 doubles earlier Saturday, lost 7-6, 5-7, 10-8 to Louisville’s Michael Lippens.

Sicora lost 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 to Chris Simich — his third consecutive defeat at No. 5 singles.

Julian Dehn lost 6-2, 6-2 at fourth singles, and Jack Hamburg lost 6-4, 6-4 in his first match at sixth singles in place of Mathieu Froment.

Since defeating unranked Marquette in their Jan. 21 home opener, Minnesota won just three of 15 individual matches against three ranked opponents.

Next up for the men are Arizona and DePaul at Baseline Tennis Center on Feb. 11-12.

Women split a pair at home

The Gophers women’s tennis team dropped its first match of the season Sunday to No. 28 Washington by a 5-2 score.

Minnesota (3-1) won just seven of 31 games in the three doubles matches and quickly lost the match’s lone doubles point. Three quick losses at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 singles quashed the Gophers’ hopes of remaining undefeated.

Minnesota’s Natallia Pintusava lost 6-1, 6-0 to 10th-ranked Denise Dy at No. 1 singles; Yuliana Umanets lost 6-1, 6-4 at third singles, and Doron Muravnik lost 6-1, 6-4 at sixth singles.

Alexa Palen won at No. 2 singles for the Gophers in a third-set supertiebreaker, and Tereza Brichacova won 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5 singles.

At No. 4 singles, Washington’s Capucine Gregoire defeated the Gophers’ Julia Courter 6-1, 7-6 (6).

The Gophers defeated William & Mary 5-2 at home Friday.