A season that appeared to promise great success for Macalester’s varsity men’s tennis team is now in jeopardy of falling apart as number one singles player Johan Fryklund ’02 and number three singles player Jeff Falk ’02 quit the team this week.

Falk left the team on Monday as a result of irreconciable differences with fourth-year head coach Eric Eberhardt.

Fryklund decided to leave the team as a result of a large load of work in his final semester. Fryklund was maintaining a busy student-athlete schedule, precepting two classes and working as a research assistant during this tennis season.

“Coach [Eberhardt] told me that he only wants guys that can give 100 percent, and I felt that I couldn’t do this at the time,” Fryklund said. “I would have liked to stay on the team, but maybe only practice like three times a week, but that wouldn’t be fair to the other guys on the team.”

“It’s not welcome news, but we’ve got to at least find something positive out of this situation,” said injured varsity singles player Alex Hiller ’04. "A lot of guys will be moving up in the order. Playing against better competition will help my game improve."

“They were two of our best players and it’s going to be tough without them,” said new number two singles player Jake Depue ’04, “but we have to move on and do the best we can.”

Men’s tennis loses in defeat of Biblical proportions at St. Cloud:

‘It was like Braveheart, Scots falling everywhere’

While the Scots opened the season protected from the blizzard-like conditions by a tennis bubble at the Gold’s Gym in Sartell, Minn., it was an avalanche inside as Division II St. Cloud State crucified Macalester, 9-0.

In doubles play, the number one team of former player Fryklund and new number one singles player R.J. Laukitis ’02 fell to their knees in agony, crying for humanity in an 8-1 loss. The other two doubles teams did not find life much easier, as the number two team of Depue and former player Falk was steamrolled, 8-3, and the number three team was demolished, also by a score of 8-3.

In singles play, Laukitis fared the best out of the Scots, winning a set but eventually succumbed, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Depue was also beaten after refusing to die, like an Athenian warrior in the final days of the Peloponnesian War, losing 6-0, 7-5. In his first varsity start, first-year Joey Mayton was butchered, 6-2, 6-0.

The death knell sounded for Macalester after Fryklund breathed his last breath at number one singles, losing 6-1, 6-1. Falk retired after falling in the first set, 7-6(2), two days before he was to retire from Macalester tennis. The visiting team did not win at number five, either.

“It was like Braveheart, Scots falling everywhere,” Depue said. “Torenius, god of livestock and Northern Minnesota tennis, did not smile upon us today, my compatriots,” he said in the postgame press conference.

Macalester’s loyal fan support started off on a better note, however, as one Eberhardt Xtremist and one college newspaper sports editor attended the match. “Our Saviors went down like the brave martyrs they are,” said head Xtremist Tyler Morken-Simmers ’04.

Eric Brandt ’05 awarded the inaugural Ian Harmon ’02 Extreme Displays of Lack of Sportsmanship Award

Despite playing in a non-varsity match at St. Cloud State, first-year Eric Brandt received the first Ian Harmon ’02 Extreme Displays of Lack of Sportsmanship Award, given each week to the Macalester tennis player who displayed “the biggest lack of respect for his opponent, the team, the sport and Macalester in general.” Brandt managed to upset IHEDLSA frontrunner Laukitis, who, although he had several impressive childish outbursts of expletives, was severely outdone by the brash freshman. Brandt’s exceptional racquet tosses and profanity-laced tirades gave much meaning to his otherwise meaningless match. “I don’t know what to say, I guess I deserved it,” Brandt said.

Editor’s note: That was the worst quote I have ever received in my two years of writing sports for The Mac Weekly.-JRB