Lakeville, Minn. — Crown men's tennis team won their first game of the season and NCAA-era program history on Monday when they bested North Central 8-1. The team swept singles and won two of their three doubles matches. 

"The win was exciting!" said Coach Eric Shourds. "There were a lot of firsts for our program, on both the men's and women's sides. We saw players split sets, and win tiebreaks; we saw our #1 men's single dominate from start to finish."

That #1 on the men's side, Caleb Baumann, was part of a dominating 8-3 doubles win and a 6-0, 6-0 win over North Central's #1. Baumann's doubles partner, Romeo Mork also won his sets against the Rams' #2 6-2, 6-1.

"I'm proud of my teammates," said Baumann. "They displayed Christ on the courts yesterday which is our main priority. Everyone contributed to the team's win. It's awesome to see the progress we're making and I'm excited to see what God has for us this season!" 

Joe Duffy and Mike Brewster won their doubles game for two doubles wins on the men's side. Duffy also won his singles game in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 1-0. Ger Jones won his game that went to three in the closest sets of the day 6-7, 7-6, 1-0. Chad Anenson won his game 6-3, 6-1 and Travis Burg had a dominating #6 spot with two 6-0s for another win. 

"We had first-year tennis players compete and win at all levels. It was fun to see the team rewarded for the hard work, late nights, and tough practices they've gone through," Shourds continued. "It is simply the beginning of Crown College Tennis, but a fun moment to look back on and quickly reflect before moving our attention forward."

On the women's side Monday, Crown tennis lost 3-6 but scored for the first time in NCAA-era history as they had their best matches to date. Abby Nelson won in the #1 spot with a fantastic 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 win over NCU's ace. Madison Stricklin had a dominating day with a 6-0, 6-1 win in #6 singles and as part of an 8-0 doubles win with Rebecca Case. 

Crown breaks their streak of 0-8 losses and gets on the board for both teams in their youth, and is a sign that the program is headed in the right direction. Crown tennis next competes on the seventh of April.