Luther earned the American Rivers Conference automatic berth to the NCAA III National Tournament after defeating Coe 5-1 this afternoon in the league's title match of the AQ Tournament. The Norse were the No. 1 seed of the tournament after capturing the regular season title with a perfect mark of 8-0. Coe was the No. 2 seed and this afternoon marked the 17th consecutive year these two teams faced each other in the AQ Tournament championship match.
Luther jumped out to a 3-0 lead after sweeping doubles. The No. 2 team of Pancho Navarrete and
Luke Westholder defeated Jon Lansing and Graham Peterson (8-5).
Nyathi Motlojoa and
Max Loen followed with an (8-3) victory over Rami Hemaidan and Bo Wilson at No. 1. The sweep was capped off at No. 3
by
Nando Melo and
Joaquim Fernandes defeating Nathan Meskell and Jordan Oaks (8-5).
Needing two more wins to secure the tournament title, Coe's Hemaidan put the first points on the scoreboard in singles, defeating Motlojoa (7-5, 6-0) at No. 1. Westholder pulled the Norse to within one-point of the victory defeating Wilson at No. 3 (6-2, 7-5). Fernandes secured the Norse's spot in the NCAA Championships with a (7-5, 6-2) win at No. 4 over Meskell.
Complete Results (PDF)
The Norse will be making their third consecutive trip to the national tournament (2019, 2021, 2022) and ninth in school history. In 2020 the national tournament was not held due to COVID-19. The Norse will find out where they will be playing in the regional round of the tournament when the NCAA releases the complete tournament field on Monday, May 9.
With the win, Luther is now 17-9 overall. Coe ends its season with a mark of 16-9.
