Metro men backhand Winona Nilsson, Meyer jump forward in doubles ranking By Jeremy Johnson jjohn308@mscd.edu

Photo by Emily Varisco • varisco@mscd.edu Metro tennis player Riley Meyer returns the serve of Winona State’s Kyle Buchmeier in their match March 16. Going into the match, Winona State was ranked No. 6 while Metro sat at No. 8. Metro defeated Winona State 7-2.

     The Metro men’s tennis team won five of six singles matches and took two of three doubles matches to take the 7-2 win over Winona State on March 16 at Auraria Courts.
   The win moved the Roadrunners from the No. 8 to the No. 6 ranking in the North Central region.
   Senior Andre Nilsson and sophomore Riley Meyer set the pace by winning the first doubles match with a swift 7-2 defeat. Nilsson and Meyer are now ranked No. 18 in the region in doubles play in the region.
   Nilsson also won his singles match against Gage Davidson, 7-6, 7-6, to earn him the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player of the week. Nilsson rallied back from a 0-3 deficit in the first set to gain the win.
   “ (Nilsson) started to get back to his old form and he played well,” head coach Dave Alden said. “Any time you can play with that confidence at that caliber you can use that as a springboard in upcoming matches.”
   Juniors Drew Machholz and Mark Milner continued their winning streak, defeating Winona’s Josh Malwitz and Davidson by a narrow 9-8 (2) margin.
   Meyer, Machholz and Milner took all three of their singles matches in straight sets. Junior Will Meyer took the fifth singles match, also in straight sets.
   “ It’s definitely the best match we’ve had this year but we have to build upon that,” Alden said. “We can’t afford to take any steps back.”
   Metro improved to 8-4 on the season while Winona went to 10-5 overall. The Roadrunners were scheduled to open RMAC play against Mesa State on March 25, but the game was rescheduled due to weather. The match has been rescheduled for April 7.
   The Metro men will travel to Colorado College on March 31.
   The ‘Runners begin RMAC action April 1 at CSU-Pueblo.