It was the second time this season that half of the Webster University men’s tennis team huddled around the court of the singles match, while the other half had to step away and couldn’t watch because of the intensity.
Senior Francisco Cortez said playing a highly touted team like Washington University in St. Louis earlier in the season prepared the Gorloks for a match against the No. 17-ranked team in the region, Augustana College (Ill.), on April 13.
The Gorloks lost all three of their doubles matches to Augustana, but that wasn’t the first time that had happened to Webster this season.
“We knew they were a strong team,” Cortez said. “We also knew that we had been a strong singles team all year and that has always given us confidence.”
That confidence brought Webster all the way back to tie the match 4-4 with only one singles match still playing. Both teams then gathered around the court as senior Josh Sellmeyer and his opponent were the last two playing in the match. A third-set tiebreaker decided the winner. Sellmeyer won and Webster took home the 5-4 victory over the Vikings.
“It was really intense,” Cortez said. “I just left because I couldn’t watch it. It was just so nerve-racking, but Sellmeyer was just huge and he pulled it out.”
Senior Agustin Villalba stayed courtside to support his teammate, who ultimately won the match.
“(Sellmeyer) is so confident in himself,” Villalba said. “Even though you know he is nervous and you don’t know how he is going to handle it, he did amazing. And you know he is very strong mentally.”
Cortez and Villalba said this win was one of the best all season, but some of their other matches in conference — like beating Westminster College (Mo.) — were the biggest highlights of the year.
Runner-up: Baseball beats No. 1 Wheaton College (Mass.)
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