MADISON, Wis. — The doubles teams for Lawrence University were stopped in the semifinals on Sunday at the Midwest Conference Championships, but the Vikings still took home a big prize as Kevin Girard was named Coach of the Year.
Girard coached his squad to a second-place finish, Lawrence’s best showing at the championships since it took second back in 2003. Lawrence finished with a 14-7 dual meet record and won the league’s North Division. The Vikings finished second in the conference after losing to Grinnell College in the league championship match on Friday. This was the first time Girard has won Coach of the Year since coming to Lawrence in the summer of 2007.
Lawrence’s Nos. 2 and 3 doubles teams both reached the championship semifinals on Sunday.
The No. 2 team of Cooper Smith and Jeremy Andereck stopped Cornell in straight sets in the quarterfinals, but then lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 to the team from Grinnell, which went on to win the title, in the semifinals. The No. 3 team of Brian DeCorte and Craig Sherwood rolled past Monmouth in the quarterfinals but fell 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to St. Norbert College in the semifinals.
The No. 1 team of Jason Dunn and Max Zlevor lost in the championship quarterfinals and were eliminated in the consolation first round.