DULUTH, Minn. – Appearing in its first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship match, the UW-Superior men's tennis team dropped a 5-4 decision to top-seeded St. Scholastica at Longview Tennis Club on Friday.
 
The second-seeded Yellowjackets won No. 2 doubles to tie the match at 1-1 early as Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) and Michael Janes (Bismarck, N.D./Legacy) defeated Jake Jolowsky and Carter Anderson, 8-1. The Saints, who started the day with a victory at No. 3 doubles when Giacomo Lucchesi and Reece Patten topped Gavin Mangan (Henderson, Nev./Basic Academy) and Anthony Michels (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie Senior), 8-1, earned the doubles point with Elliot Schneier and Jack Kearney beating Gergo Potz Nagy (Budapest, Hungary/Veres Pálné Secondary Grammar School) and Andre Luiz de Melo Guedes (Brasilia, Brazil/Centro de Ensino Médio Paulo Freire), 8-6, at No. 1.
 
Superior pulled ahead in singles with victories on courts three and two, respectively, to take a 3-2 lead in the match. Luiz de Melo Guedes dispatched Jolowsky, 6-0, 6-0 before Janes beat Kearney, 6-1, 6-1.
 
Bradley Golant got past Carter LaMont (Villard, Minn./Minnewaska Area) at No. 6, 6-1, 6-3, pull the Saints even prior to Lucchesi defeating Lorenzo Korehisa Silva (Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Singular-Santo Andre), 6-2, 6-0, on court five.
 
St. Scholastica clinched the title with a 6-4, 6-1 win from Schneider over Potz Nagy at No. 1. Zacharias closed the match with a 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 victory at No. 4.
 
The UMAC title for the Saints is their 20th all-time, and gives CSS (10-4) its second NCAA tournament appearance in history. Superior's season comes to a close with a 10-5 record.
 
The loss for UWS spelled the end of collegiate careers of seniors Mangan and Clayton Tanner (Waseca, Minn./Waseca Senior) as well as junior Michels and freshman Reier Sjomeling (Delano, Minn./Delano). Mangan's run ends as the program leader in doubles wins with 24. A four-year team member, Tanner was part of 27 dual-match victories.