ST. LOUIS, Mo.—History was made this past Thursday at Illinois Institute of Technology. For the first time ever, the Scarlet Hawks competed in a NCAA Division III tournament contest. The men’s tennis team represented Illinois Tech, as the Scarlet Hawks (18-10) took on Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (14-9). There was a rain delay of nearly 90 minutes halting action in the middle of doubles. Despite some impressive battles, the Scarlet Hawks were defeated by RHIT 5-1.

Match Highlights

• All three doubles matches were tightly contested early on. When the rain hit 25 minutes into the start of the match, Tech trailed in No. 1 doubles 4-2, No. 2 doubles 5-2, and led No. 3 doubles 4-3 over the Fightin’ Engineers
• Rose-Hulman was able to seize control after the delay, winning 8-3 in No. 1 doubles and 8-2 in No. 2 doubles. Pol de Santiago and Franklin Zhong were able to take a late game in No. 1 after dropping three straight after the intermission.
• No. 3 doubles became an important result, and Davis Housman and Brody Croonquist delieverd. After being tied 4-4, the duo took four of the next give games to give Tech its first win.
• With RHIT ahead 2-1 after doubles, the Fightin’ Engineers took four of the first six singles matches. Both Zhong (No. 2) and Housman (No. 4) were able to win their first sets of games.
• However, the Fightin’ Engineers were able to win three singles matches outright before the Scarlet Hawks picked up victories, as RHIT won in the No. 1, No. 5, and No. 6 spots to take the 5-1 win.