Madison, WI — Few athletes make it to the collegiate level in their sport. Even fewer make it to the top of the lineup. Then, within the team's conference, only one player can be the best. To be all of that in the first year on the team is an even more impressive feat. Only a select few can say they have accomplished this. Lawrence's William Reichen is one of those select few.

The main and consolation draw singles finals got the second day of the Midwest Conference Individual Tournament underway. The Vikings had four members of the team competing in the singles finals and two doubles teams in the semifinals and finals.

At Line 1 singles, first-year William Reichen faced Lake Forest's Tim Pasea in the main draw finals. Reichen got off to a hot start to go up 5-0 in the first set before winning the set 6-2. He kept this form into the second set where he took a 4-1 lead. Pasea managed to win his fourth and fifth games of the match shortly after. However, those would be the last two games he would win as the resilient Reichen took care of his service game before breaking Pasea's serve to win the match and the MWC Individual Tournament. This is the first time since 2008 that Lawrence has won the tournament.

"It was fun," Reichen said.

Coming off of narrow, 3-set losses on the first day of the tournament, Lawrence's 2, 3 and 4 singles lines competed in the consolation draw finals. At Line 3, junior Gabriel Garcia put together a flawless performance against Ripon's Corey Mooney, winning the match 8-1 to secure victory in the consolation draw. 

"Im proud of the way I played and the way the whole team played," Garcia said. "It was really satisfactory seeing all of the victories we acquired and seeing a good close to the season."

On the court next to him, junior Owen Horton faced Monmouth's Cadan DeJong in a rematch of their regular season matchup. Like during the regular conference season, Horton made quick work of DeJong, beating him 8-4 in the final. 

"I had fun too," Horton said. "Especially the parts where I was winning."

Finally, sophomore Benjamin Hoppe played Ripon's Austin Stevens in the Line 2 singles consolation final. Hoppe competed against Stevens in last year's Line 2 singles consolation final as well. Also like last year, Hoppe put together a strong performance, delivering an 8-3 victory to wrap up Lawrence's singles play.

"It was a good end to the season," Hoppe said. "I'm proud of the way I competed and handled myself on the court these last two days."

Members of Lawrence's Line 1 and 3 doubles teams took to the court again at the end of the singles matches. In the main draw at Line 1, Reichen and Hoppe battled against No. 1 seed Grinnell College in the semifinals. The match started off tightly contested and was filled with long, hard hitting rallies, but the Vikings ultimately fell to Grinnell 1-8. Meanwhile at Line 3 doubles, the first-year doubles partners (and roommates) of Will Lewis and Jonathan Myszka took on Ripon's Corey Mooney and Emerson Hendricks in the consolation semifinals. The pair took command of the match, cruising to an 8-2 win, placing them in a finals matchup against Monmouth's Alfonso Mares and Chase Sims. 

"It was a solid win; not a lot of mistakes [were] made," Myszka said.

The following match versus Monmouth was a redemption match for Lewis and Myszka, who narrowly lost in a tiebreak to Mares and Sims in the regular season. After a difficult start, the Vikings found themselves down 1-6. Coming off of the changeover and a debrief with Coach Tate Whitlinger, Lewis and Myszka remembered that it was comeback season. The dynamic duo locked in for the next seven games, dominating from all parts of the court to win the Line 3 consolation draw finals 8-6.

"I love the community and teamwork displayed by everyone this weekend," Lewis said. "We started out slower going down 1-6 and when times got tough, we dug deep."

At the end of the second day of the tournament, Lawerence finished with a record of 5-1 across all matches and 4-0 in finals matches. With the conclusion of the MWC Individual Tournament comes the conclusion of the team's season. Through lineup changes, long road trips, and matchups versus nationally ranked opponents, Lawrence finished with some strong victories. The Vikings will now look to continue this momentum into the 2026-27 season.