Six seniors help men’s tennis program turn the corner
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Joseph Baer

Mankato, Minn.—An improved Bethany men’s tennis team finished the 2009 season with a 4-9 record (4-5 UMAC). The guys finished third in both the conference regular season and postseason tournament.

Senior Michael Lukasek (Sparta, Wis./Luther) played number one for the Vikings and always faced the top competition. Lukasek finished the year 4-11 and Coach Adolph Harstad noted his victory against rival North Central University’s number one as a season highlight. Paul Webber (Scottsdale, Ariz./Michigan Lutheran Seminary) finished the season with a 5-9 record and played number two for Bethany. Webber and Lukasek also combined for a 4-10 record in doubles matches.

Bethany’s depth played a big role in their improvement from a year ago. Freshman David Blumer (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) and senior Jeff Huber (Clearwater, Minn./West Lutheran) played in the three and four spots respectively for the Vikings. Blumer finished with an 8-6 record and Huber ended the year at 7-8. The two combined for an 8-7 record in doubles matches and were both named to the UMAC All-Conference First Team. The deep team also featured David Buchs (Rochester, Minn./Homeschool), who faced off in 11 singles matches for Bethany and Christopher McClure (Delafield, Wis./Waukesha Christian Academy) who ended the season 6-4 in singles matches.

When asked about next year’s team, Coach Harstad expressed the need to replace his six seniors. He said, “With the loss of our seniors, we will be re-building next year. We have a solid freshman in Blumer returning and are looking to bring in two transfers, freshmen recruits, and a pair of players that will be back from injury.” Harstad also felt the team met expectations, “It looks like Bethany has turned the corner on its tennis program.”

Men's tennis finishes third in UMAC Tournament
Sunday, May 03, 2009

Elizabeth Kopacek

Minneapolis, Minn.—The Bethany Lutheran men’s tennis team finished third in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tennis Tournament on Saturday at the Baseline Tennis Center.

Bethany scored 10 points on the first day of the tournament after Mike Lukasek (No. 1 singles, Sparta, Wis./Luther), Paul Webber (No. 2, Scottsdale, Ariz./Michigan Lutheran Seminary), David Blumer (No. 3, Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) and Jeff Huber (No. 4, Clearwater, Minn./West Lutheran) each won a quarterfinal match but lost in the semifinals. Chris McClure (Delafield, Wis./Waukesha Christian Academy) was the sole Bethany player to move on to the championship match.

McClure played on Saturday and finished second at No. 6 singles, losing 6-3, 7-5 to Brian Lindberg of St. Scholastica in the championship match.

Bethany brought their season to a close with the third place finish in both regular season and postseason play. The Vikings posted a 4-6 record in the UMAC and finished 4-9 overall.