FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Western Illinois fell twice in Summit League play over the weekend in Fort Wayne. The Leathernecks opened the weekend with a 6-1 loss to South Dakota State, then suffered a 7-0 defeat to the host Mastodons.

Christoph Haertel returned to the lineup on Saturday and swept his number one singles match against Andrea Boglic. Haertel won the first match tie-break in a 7-6 decision and finished the sweep following a 6-1 win.

Mitch Granger lost a 6-2, 6-1 decision at number two, and Max Cederkall lost 6-4, 6-2 at number three singles. Brandon Meeker (6-1, 6-0), Chris Bunch (6-3, 6-2) and Brett Furmanski (6-0, 6-3) all lost in straight sets in the fourth, fifth and sixth singles, respectively.

The Leathernecks lost all three doubles matches.

Against the Mastodons, Haertel lost in straight sets (6-3, 6-1). Granger went to a tie-break third set after losing the first set 6-3 then rebounded for a 6-3 win in the second. He eventually lost 10-7 in the third.

Meeker also went to a third set tie-break. He won the opener 6-4 but lost 6-1 in the second and 10-5 in the tie-break. Cederkall was swept in the third singles (6-0, 6-2), Bunch lost 6-0 each in the fifth singles and Furmanski lost by matching 6-1 scores in his six singles slot. IPFW swept the doubles point.

Western (1-13 overall, 0-4 Summit League) returns to action on April 4, playing host to Denver. The Summit League match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

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