ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College men's tennis team won five singles matches en route to a 7-2 victory over Bethel in the quarterfinals of the MIAC Playoffs Tuesday afternoon at Hayden Tennis Courts. The win advances the Scots (7-3) to Thursday's semifinals, while the Royals end their season at 5-10.

Fourth-seeded Macalester will face top-seeded Gustavus in the semifinals of Thursday. The match will begin at 3:30 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.

Seniors Sam Hochberger (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) and Ben White (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) started things off with an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles. The Scots' No. 3 doubles pair of juniors Jeffrey Jorgensen (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton) and Alexander Poland (Madison, Wis./Madison West) were victorious, 8-5, giving Macalester a 2-1 lead after doubles.

In singles, Hochberger, Jorgensen, White, Poland and sophomore Matthew Sullivan (Tacoma, Wash./Weil) won their matches in straight sets, securing the victory and advancing the Scots to the semifinals for the third time in the program's history, and the first time since 2018. Macalester's other two appearances in the semifinals were against the Gusties, who have won 12 of the 13 MIAC Playoff tournaments, including the past nine.

The other semifinal match-up features No. 2 Carleton hosting No. 3 St. Thomas on Thursday. The semifinal winners will meet for the MIAC Playoff title on Saturday, May 8, with the highest remaining seed serving as host.

MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs
Tuesday, May 4
No. 4 Macalester 7, No. 5 Bethel 2

Thursday, May 6
No. 4 Macalester at No. 1 Gustavus, 3:30 p.m.
No. 3 St. Thomas at No. 2 Carleton, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 8
Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed, 1:00 p.m.