Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Saint John's opened the MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs with a 5-4 win at St. Thomas on Wednesday, April 30, at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

A win from senior Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) via the super-breaker at No. 2 singles proved to be the clincher for the sixth-seeded Johnnies (9-10, 4-5 MIAC), who now advance to face top-seeded and nationally-ranked Gustavus Adolphus in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, in St. Peter.

Laue lost his first set 6-4 but battled back to win the second, 6-1, and sealed the Johnnies' second consecutive victory in the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinals with a 10-3 decision in the super-breaker. SJU defeated St. Olaf 5-2 in last year's opening round before falling to the Gusties, 5-0.

Junior Jordan Otto (Rice, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) also needed the super-breaker to win his match at No. 3: 6-3, 0-6 and 10-6.

Senior Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) and sophomore Andrew Nagel (Maple Grove, Minn.) won their matches at Nos. 3 and 6, respectively, in straight sets.

SJU found itself down 2-1 after doubles competition, in which all three matches were decided by two points. The tandem of Laue and Nagel was the lone win at No. 2, 8-6.

The victory avenged a 6-3 loss to UST recorded earlier this season on March 16 in Minneapolis, in which the Tommies won two singles matches via the super-breaker. Wednesday's win is the first for SJU in the series since Feb. 21, 2009 (5-4).