by Katelyn McLean | Staff Writer
Whitworth Men’s tennis is optimistic about the remainder of the season after being swept by defending champion Whitman College.
It was a day of hard-fought matches in the tennis bubble that left coach Cameron Williams disappointed with the losses, but even more encouraged by his team’s effort and grit, he said.
“We came out there and played like we’re the better team, we’re dictating points, we’re in charge and that worked out. We didn’t let them get in our head, we didn’t let ranking points get in our head. That seemed to work well,” Williams said.
Williams is a first-year head coach for men’s tennis, taking over for Mike Shanks, who had coached the tennis team for 20 seasons.
After today, the Bucs are 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Jake Bethards and Cameron Brewer lost 8-7 at number three doubles, Sean Singco and Kincaid Norris lost 8-5 at number two doubles, and Ben Bethards and Ethan Violette also lost 8-5 at number one doubles.
As for singles, Jake Bethards lost 6-3, 6-4 at number three singles, and Norris lost 6-2, 6-4 at number five singles.
“Just all the way through, our doubles played really well. We’ve been focusing a lot on our doubles and trying to make sure we have the best combinations and this team ranks top of the nation right now, they’re top of our conference, so it’s hard to be disappointed with anything with how we played,” Williams said.
Moving forward, Williams says that it’s only the little things that are holding the team back from victory.
“Those doubles matches came down to just a couple little things, so it’s learning how to execute the way we know how to execute on those pressure points. Learning how to execute on those pressure points is just the difference maker in that match. It’s nothing major,” Williams said.
The women’s team fared slightly better at Whitman, but still lost 1-8. The only win for the Bucs was an 8-5 victory from freshman Aleah Kert and sophomore Jill Hughes at number two doubles. Erica Lee and Avery Leining lost 8-1 at number two doubles, and Hannah Plank and Kyndal Locati lost 8-3 at number three doubles.
In women’s singles, Kert lost 2-6, 6-1, 2-6 at number three singles, while Plank lost 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 at number four singles. Lee was defeated 6-3, 6-3 at number one singles, and Hughes also lost 6-3, 6-3 at number five singles.
“For this being our first conference match of the season, it’s a pretty great place to start. We’ve got a really important match next weekend, so really we’re just trying to build towards that weekend and keep playing well. We love playing at home.”
Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams face a tough weekend next week against two conference rivals. The women play at George Fox Mar. 13 at 3:30pm and at Lewis and Clark Mar. 14 at 10:00am.
The men’s team plays at home on Mar. 14 against Lewis and Clark at 11:00am and Mar. 15 against Linfield at 10 a.m.