Last weekend, the men and women tennis teams took the court for four matches. The men split the four matches posting a 2-2 record over the weekend while the women went 2-1.
The men started out the weekend losing to the country’s No. 1 junior college, Tyler, 5-2, and No. 8 Div. III program from Trinity, 4-3. The next day, the men turned it around and swept the double header against Permian Basin and McMurry, winning both 5-2.
The team’s main focus is on progress not necessarily the outcome. Assistant coach John Walker said the weekend was productive.
“Our level of play was excellent both days. On Friday, we played two very good teams. They were strong from top to bottom in both singles and doubles,” Walker said. “We will get better and tougher as a result of these types of matches. Many times loses like we had on Friday are excellent wake-up calls. Our team as a group played much tougher from start to finish on Saturday.”
Number one Borja Cortes had his undefeated start spoiled by two singles losses at the start of the tournament. Number two Nicklas Wingord had to retire his final match because of an injury, but isn’t expected to miss any practices or matches. Marco Bensley and Jason Proctor were the only singles winners on Friday. On Saturday the team’s fortune changed as they rolled in win after win. Cortes won both singles matches and doubles, starting the team off strong. Another strong doubles team was Jason Proctor and Michael Morris as they went 3-1 over the weekend.
Morris, who has returned after taking a year off, is getting back into the groove.
“In doubles, I was really satisfied, and Jason and I have a lot of chemistry as a doubles team but I still need to make improvements in my singles game,” Morris said. “I didn’t play last year because I felt burned out. Although it is still hard to rebuild my game after not playing after a year, I feel that I have a better approach to practice and matches now that I love the game more than ever.”
The women lead by senior Micah Hermsdorf won their first two matches as a D-1 program. They defeated Wright State, 4-3, and Cincinnati, 4-3 as well. However, Xavier snapped their two-match winning streak with a 5-2 loss as three singles matches were decided by a third-set tie-breaker.
The women improved to a 2-1 record and the men remain at .500 with a 4-4 record. The men are on the road this weekend to Dallas and the women will play their first home matches of the season.
