Storm drop IIAC matches, Rietgraf moves into third on wins list

DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Simpson men's tennis team dropped a pair of Iowa Conference matches on the road Saturday, losing to Dubuque 6-3 before losing to Loras 8-1.

Peter Rietgraf earned a super-tiebreaker win over Loras' Ulises Hernandez at No. 2 singles to give him 40 wins for his career, moving him into sole possession of third place all-time at Simpson. He beat Hernandez 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 to move past David Venables (2001-04) and Cory Veen (2002-05) on the wins list. He is now one behind Sam Skalland for second.

The Storm (10-10, 1-5 Iowa Conference) got a pair of singles wins against Dubuque. Geoff Converse beat Jordan Hamling 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4 and Zach Nelson beat Zebulon Hill 6-7, 9-7, 6-4 at No. 5. Zach Kusick (No. 1) and Aaron Smith (No. 6) lost super-tiebreaker decisions.

The doubles team of Smith and Adam Wieser edged Hill and Alvaro Blanco 9-8 at No. 3.

Simpson will not be able to qualify for the IIAC Team Tournament but look to close the season on a high note when it hosts Luther on Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m. in the season finale.