Bethel tennis enjoys week of success as historic season continues
The program saw wins over Friends, McPherson, and Saint Mary.
The Bethel tennis teams captured a handful of wins last week, including one of the biggest victories in the program’s history.
Last Monday, the men’s and women’s teams both defeated Friends swiftly with a score of 7-0 on the men's side and 6-1 on the women's side. With Daniela Herrera sitting out, everyone moved up a spot to get more experience on the court.
“I felt very proud of my teammates as I got to watch them win their matches, even though I was disappointed with how I played,” said freshman Charis Yager from Derby. “Our team has been putting on very strong performances on the court and the Friends match was just another example of that.”
On Thursday, the Threshers took on a strong McPherson team that was ranked first in both KCAC preseason polls. The men’s side lost, 5-2, but left with an individual highlight as Milan Bucek won at #1 singles against Michael Beltran — a two-time national qualifier, the 2021 player of the year, and a KCAC champion. Beltran was handed the upset as Bucek beat him (6-0, 7-5). The other victory came at #4 singles from Petr Kollar as he defeated his opponent 7-6(7), 7-6(2).
“It was an amazing moment in my career because I lost three times to Beltran and I was never able to beat him,” said junior Bucek from Pelhrimov, Czech Republic. “For me, it was mostly a win against myself because I was struggling to play on the highest level against this guy. The team can adapt by relying on their strengths in every situation instead of trying to do something that does not work at the moment. Tennis is a mental game and each player has to accept his own style instead of copying others.”
The women's team against McPherson pulled off one of the biggest wins in the program’s history as they took down the Bulldogs in a clinch match. It started off with Herrera/Nemi losing at #1 doubles (1-6) and Huerta/Payton winning at #3 doubles (7-5), with a clinch at #2 doubles from Krehbiel/Dawes (7-6) to steal the doubles point.
Then, Herrera won at #1 singles (6-4, 2-6, 6-3), Payton won at #4 singles (6-2, 6-2), and ending the match was Huerta at #6 singles with the victory (6-1, 6-1) to defeat McPherson, 4-3, in the team score.
“It felt amazing being able to clinch and beat a good team like McPherson,” freshman Patty Huerta, a McPherson native, said. “I think the team is doing well and everything is starting to click. That’s also because we have people stepping up when needed by winning important matchups.”
On Saturday, the men’s team traveled up to Leavenworth as they took on the Spires of Saint Mary. This is the first year the Spires have had a tennis team and had only four guys healthy. Bethel cruised to a 7-0 victory.
“We’re getting late into the season and I'm getting really pleased with the endurance of our team both mentally and physically,” head coach Gabe Johnson said. “I think we’re holding up well which is a testament to how hard the players have worked to keep their bodies and minds ready to compete every day.
“Getting to see [the women's team] get that huge first win to place them at the top of the conference moving forward, and the men’s side was a tough loss against McPherson, it’s the level we want to be at and we’ve got to work to make sure we’re pushing ourselves to compete with the best teams in the conference and in the country.”
The Threshers are back in action this Thursday against Bethany in Lindsborg and then Saturday against Ottawa.