Leavenworth, Kan.— The Spire men secured a 4-3 KCAC victory over visiting McPherson College on Saturday afternoon in Leavenworth, using a strong showing in doubles to decide a match that was down to the wire. The Spires won two of the three doubles pairings and claimed the crucial team point that ultimately separated the sides after the teams split the six singles matches.

That early work proved critical to the USM victory. Nils Dueppe and Nudem Koyuncu gave Saint Mary a doubles win at No. 1 with a 6-3 result over Nardy and Wyatt. After McPherson answered at No. 2 doubles, where Wasserfuhr and Barrientos Molina defeated Korbin Priestley and Evan Maritz 7-6, 7-3, the Spires closed out the point at No. 3. Mateo Dargel Argote and Carlos Grimaldi beat Temesvari and Schmidt 6-4, giving USM the doubles advantage and, eventually, leading them to the overall match victory.

Singles unfolded evenly from there. McPherson picked up wins at No. 1, No. 4 and No. 5. Nardy defeated Dueppe 6-3, 6-4 at the top spot, Wyatt outlasted Priestley 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 4, and Temesvari earned a straight-set victory at No. 5 over Koyuncu at 7-6, 7-6 set scores.

USM countered with three important singles wins of its own. Grimaldi delivered one of the most decisive performances of the day at No. 2, beating Wasserfuhr 6-0, 6-1. Maritz followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Molina at No. 3. Argote then closed the singles slate with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Schmidt at No. 6, leveling singles play at 3-3 and underscoring the value of the doubles point the Spires had banked earlier.

Grimaldi and Argote stood out by contributing in both formats. Grimaldi paired his dominant singles win with the deciding doubles victory alongside Argote, while Argote also finished with a singles-and-doubles sweep. Their production gave Saint Mary two of its clearest momentum swings in a match that never allowed much separation. The result reflected just how narrow the margin was.

The Spires will spend the rest of their short Spring season on the road. USM will travel to Winfield on Saturday, April 18^th to face off against the Southwestern College Moundbuilders, their final regular season appearance before the KCAC Men's & Women's Championships.

Spire men's tennis currently sits third overall in the KCAC, with postseason set for Wednesday, April 22^nd through Saturday, April 25^th.