The Kansas Wesleyan tennis teams swept Tabor?s 5-4 (women) and 6-3 (men) Saturday in Hillsboro. But the Bluejays came back with team victories of 5-4 (women) and 9-0 (men) over Oklahoma Wesleyan.
The players across the court were not the only one making life difficult in the morning.
?The wind was ridiculous,? coach Michael Hagen said. ?I had to move our afternoon match against Oklahoma Wesleyan out to the sports complex due to baseballs from the Tabor/Friends game landing on the tennis courts quite frequently. Our teams responded well though.?
Hagen was not thrilled by the men?s doubles matches against the Coyotes in the morning, but was happier with the singles matches.
?I thought Aaron Friesen played a really good singles match, as well as Emerson Kochem and Andy Adrian,? he said. ?Emerson came out on the wrong end but he played really well against one of their better players.?
Friesen beat Christian Cruz 7-5, 6-3, Adrian beat Tanner Colvin 6-2, 6-2, and Kochem pushed Brad Vanover to the brink before fading 2-6, 7-6 (5), 2-10.
The other singles matches went to K-W as follows: Zach Douglas defeated Chad Gayer 6-1, 0-6, 6-0; Mark Barlett defeated Jason Reiswig 6-3, 6-0; and Sergio Navarro defeated Scott Adrian 6-4, 6-4.
The Coyotes took two of three in men?s doubles: Douglas/Vanover defeated Reiswig/Kochem 8-6; Cruz/Navarro defeated S. Adrian/Friesen 9-7.
Tabor picked up a doubles win behind Andy Adrian and Gayer, who defeated Barlett and Colvin 8-3.
On the women’s side, Hagen said Amanda Faber and Stacie Herman trailed Victoria Andrade and Macy McMakin 3-7 in the No. 1 doubles match, but rallied to win 9-7.
Faber trounced Andrade 6-1, 6-2 in No. 1 singles and Herman topped Amanda Fertig 6-1, 6-1 in No. 4 singles. Brynne Mitchell beat Marylou Casillas 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in No. 6 singles.
Kansas Wesleyan won all other women?s singles matches as follows: Brittney Parke defeated Jaimie Williams 6-3, 5-7,10-3; McMakin defeated Amanda Wann 6-1,6-1; Hannah Kern defeated Katie Chlumsky 7-6(5), 6-2.
The Coyotes scored doubles wins from Parke/Fertig over Wann/Mitchell 8-2 and Kern/Casillas over Chlumsky/Williams 8-5.
?Obviously the loss to Kansas Wesleyan isn’t a good way to start out the year, but we have a long was to go,? Hagen said. ?That’s the first conference match, so we can’t dwell on it. We have to look forward to McPherson and Friends this week and get on the right track. Our team is not down at all, and we’ll respond great come the next match.?
?I’m not worried,? he said. ?We have a good bunch of kids who will go out and fight hard everyday, and we have a lot of tennis left to play.?
Coming?Tabor hosted McPherson at 3 p.m. Tuesday and meets Friends at 3 p.m. Friday at the Riverside Sports Complex in Wichita. The Bluejays host Sterling at 9 a.m. Saturday.
