Tennis opener ends with a women's team win, narrow men's team defeat
Both squads opened the new campaign at home against Concordia.
On Tuesday, the Bethel tennis team took on Concordia their home and season opener. The men's side lost the dual by a score of 4-3 whereas the women took the 4-3 win.
The men's side featured a new lineup. Due to ineligibility and injuries, the Threshers had five missing athletes. Although this was an unusual difference in the lineup, after losing the doubles point best two-out-of-three, Bethel fought in singles to make it a tied team score of 3-1. However, the Threshers couldn’t pull through and ended up falling short by a single match.
“It went well … knowing that we have a new team and we had some guys not able to play,” junior Tomas Quercia from Buenos Aires, Argentina said. “I think we need to be more consistent as a team and play with concentration the whole match.”
Freshman Damian Rosas from Corpus Christi, Tex. made his Bethel debut. “It began as a nervous day for me since it was my first game in college,” he said. “Now I know what improvements I need to make from here on. I think the team is good in terms of communication and we will improve from this one greatly.”
In doubles, Milan Bucek and Rodrigo Sanchez won 6-3, Quercia and Rosas fell 3-6, and James Menard and Jaden Fox lost 1-6. In singles, Bucek won the No. 1 singles spot 6-3, 6-1.
Sanchez, in his debut, won at the No. 2 singles spot, 6-2, 7-6(5). Quercia won 6-4, 6-0, at the #3 singles spot. Rosas fell 0-6, 7-6(2), 9-11 in a close match at the No. 4 singles spot. Menard fell 4-6, 0-6 at the No. 5 singles spot, and Jordan Twenter fell 6-7(2), 0-6 at the No. 6 singles spot.
The Thresher women came through with a big 4-3 win over the Bulldogs. In doubles, Fatima Nemi and Halle Krehbiel fell 3-6, Nalea Payton and Jenna Mahoney fell 6-7(5), and Patty Huerta and Charis Yager won 6-3.
After the Threshers lost the doubles point, they stole the win in singles. In the No. 1 singles spot, Nemi fell 4-6, 1-6. Krehbiel fell 1-6, 5-7 in the No. 2 singles spot. Mahoney won via def. 6-4, 1-0 in the No. 3 singles spot. Payton played the No. 4 singles spot and won 6-2, 7-6(3), and Huerta played at the No. 5 singles spot and also won 6-2, 6-1.
That left the team score tied, 3-3.
“I think the first dual was a great way to kick off the season,” Emma Evans, a freshman from Lawrence said. “Everyone on the team was constantly cheering on their teammates and were very supportive. I think the intensity of our players will improve quickly as everyone gets more comfortable within the first few matches.”
Evans went on to win 7-5, 7-5 at the No. 6 singles spot and seal the victory for Bethel.
Mahoney, a sophomore from Gardner, stated, “I think yesterday went well, I was really proud of us for coming back from 1-3 and winning. It was really cool to see the freshmen step in and play some crucial spots in the lineup for us because of some of our girls being out for different reasons.”
“I was really pleased with how we competed,” head coach Gabe Johnson said after the match. “[I’m] obviously disappointed not to get the win [on the men’s side], but this is why we compete — so that we can build on it.
For the women, I was happy to start the season with a rally after losing the doubles point, coming back, and [getting] big wins from Emma Evans and Patty Huerta. I'm excited for the rest of the fall and what it holds for both sides.”
The Threshers will be back in action on Sep. 23 and 24 as they participate in the KCAC Individual Championships hosted by Southwestern College in Winfield.