Menard and Haoda take home doubles championship for Bethel tennis
Menard and Haoda take home doubles championship for Bethel tennis
The Threshers competed in their first tournament of the year this past weekend with strong showings in Emporia
EMPORIA — The men’s tennis team competed last weekend in the Chicken Dinner Invitational at Emporia State and the results were promising as the Threshers were led by the pairing of a veteran and a rookie.
The team of all 13 men competed in both singles and doubles and the results were positive. In flight #1 of doubles, Petr Kollar and Jorge Batista went 2-1. In flight #2 of doubles there were two teams competing where Rodrigo Sanchez and Jonah Bergeron went 0-3 while James Menard and Billy Haoda went 3-0. In flight #3, Jordan Twenter and Josh Leinbach went 0-3, Moses Sawatzky and Titus Wassom went 2-1, and Elias and Amos Harder went 1-2.
The doubles play from Menard and Haoda was electric. When they started Friday morning they were off to a great start winning in a close set, finishing 8-7(2) against a strong Emporia State team. On Saturday, the team took on a Newman team, surviving yet another tiebreak and winning 8-7(8). In the championship, the new duo took on a team from Pratt winning in convincing style 8-5.
“It felt good to start the season out with some big wins against a lot of solid competition,” senior Menard from Orange, Tex. said. “I’m excited to build on this momentum at the KCAC tournament this next weekend.”
In singles flight #1, Kollar went 0-2 on the weekend. In flight #2, Sanchez went 0-3. In flight #3, Batista went 1-2 and Haoda went 2-1. In flight #4, Sawatzky went 0-2 and Bergeron went 0-3. In flight #5, Wassom went 0-3, Twenter went 1-2, and A. Harder went 0-2 on the weekend. Last but certainly not least in flight #6, E. Harder went 2-1, and Leinbach went 1-2.
“Of course, when I first stepped onto the court, I was nervous,” said Batista from Maracay, Venezuela about competing in his first college matches. “When I saw my team supporting me, I was so happy, and the nerves left and I started enjoying tennis in a different way than I have ever experienced in my life. For this being my first tournament, I think I did well and I hope that good things are coming for us as a team in the future.”
Some highlights to acknowledge in singles were Haoda winning a close third-set super tiebreaker and E. Harder winning the consolation side in another close super tiebreaker and placing fifth in Flight #6.
“For it being our first tournament of the year, I was happy with how the guys competed,” head coach Gabe Johnson said. “I think these are important matches for us to play early in the season to identify who we are as a team and what our strengths are going to be and what we need to work on both to get ready for upcoming tournaments like the KCAC and the ITA, but also to find our identity as a group and start preparing for the spring season as well.
I want to recognize Elias Harder who's a senior and I think he's playing the best tennis of his life right now. He's in the best shape he's ever been in so I love to see that from a guy who's put in the work for you know three years I'm coming into a senior year competing. I think his energy is infectious and our team is feeding off of that right now. It’s a big tournament for our returners as they step up into leadership roles and I think you know we have a lot to learn in terms of what it means to be great leaders and consistent leaders, but this is a group who's gonna figure that out as the season goes on I'm excited to keep growing with this group.”
Moving on from the results and pushing for higher ambitions, the Threshers are set to take action next week again in tournament play at the KCAC Individual Championships in Lindsborg starting on Friday at 9:00 a.m where the women will be competing as well.