Burt Interview

The end result may not have been the desired one, but the Colorado College men's tennis team left Little Rock, Ark. with their heads held high after placing sixth at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships on Sunday.
 
The Tigers had a chance to defeat Centre College, but the Colonels pulled out two three-set wins in singles to overtake CC, which had held a 2-1 lead after the doubles competition, in a 5-4 victory in the fifth-place match.
 
“Everyone fought incredibly hard but they were able to come away with the match,” said CC head coach Todd Doebler.”They did a good job fighting. This was a huge step for the program.”
 
“We battled really hard,” said senior Nate Burt, who ended his collegiate career with wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. “Everyone played well, especially when you consider how many matches we played in the past three days.”
 
Burt knows best of all. He suffered from severe cramping in his right leg after Saturday's two matches and required intravenous fluids. The Tigers played four duals in three days in 80-85 degree heat with 70-80 percent humidity.
 
“For Nate to play so well in his final match is special, especially after he was cramping so badly (on Saturday),” Doebler said. “He did a great job coming through for the team.”
 
The strong showing matched CC's best finish in the SCAC league tournament. With only Burt lost to graduation, sixth place bodes well for next season. Freshman Jack Burger won both his matches at No. 5 singles and No. 2 doubles.
 
“The freshmen played really tough, especially Robert (Kasemodel) in a three-hour battle,” Burt said. “We played the best tennis we had all season. The underclassmen definitely showed the determination and the effort they will need in the future.”
 

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Results
 
Fifth-place match
Centre College 5, Colorado College 4

Doubles Competition
1. CC – Nate Burt/Lionel Zen-Ruffinen def. Ben Newstadt/Lucas Kelley 8-3
2. CC – Will Lindsay/Jack Burger def. Xan Witherspoon/Trey Williamson 8-4
3. CEN – Woody Rini/Parker Lawson def. Robert Kasemodel/Zach White 8-6

Singles Competition
1. CC – Nate Burt def. Ben Newstadt 6-4, 6-4
2. CEN – Xan Witherspoon def. Will Lindsay 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. CEN – Woody Rini def. Lionel Zen-Ruffinen 6-4, 6-2
4. CEN – Trey Williamson def. Robert Kasemodel 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
5. CC - Jack Burger def. Lucas Kelley 6-3, 6-3
6. CEN – Andrew Howard def. Zach White 6-4, 6-2