ORLANDO, FL. --Today marked the first match for the Principia Men's Tennis team on its Spring Break trip to Orlando, Florida. After traveling for two days and sitting inside during a day in which they were supposed to be practicing, the men were excited to finally get on the court and play some tennis.
After a brief morning hit, the Gold and Blue decided early on that they were going to come out and be the aggressors against Illinois Wesleyan. The 3
rd doubles team of
Kevin Hagenlocher and
Brian Wold started really strong and did not let up the whole match, winning 8-3. The 2
nd doubles team of
Nate Waters and
Weston Kalogeridis took some time to find their footing, but soon seized control and took the match 8-5. The 1
st doubles team of
Paul Sanderude and
Jason Wissman fought extremely hard against the talented 1
st doubles of Illinois Wesleyan. After being down an early break, they clawed back into the match and were on serve down 8-7. However, they were unable to hold serve and lost the match 9-7.
Going into singles with a 2-1 lead provided some much need confidence for the Gold and Blue. At 5
th singles,
Kevin Hagenlocher started slow, but soon found his groove and was able to put away his opponent 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. At 4
th singles,
Nate Waters was able to take control of his match from the beginning. By frustrating his opponent with his remarkable consistency, Waters won the match 6-4, 6-2. The match at 6
th singles closed it out for the Panthers, as
Brian Wold was able to come back and win his match. After losing the first set 6-2, Wold was able to find his rhythm and confidence. Even after falling behind in the 3
rd set, he kept his composure and won in a tiebreaker. The scores of this clinching match were 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2). At 2
nd singles,
Jason Wissman was able to make the victory even sweeter by gaining a victory over a very solid opponent. He was able to keep his calm and really focus in a tight 2 set match. Wissman won 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Principia Men's Tennis was able to win the match with an overall score of 6-3, making the overall record of the team 2-0 on the season.
The first match of Spring Break was definitely a success for the men's tennis team. They look to build on this success tomorrow afternoon in a match against an even tougher team, St. Scholastica (MN).
Principia College Illinois Wesleyan Score
1
st Doubles:
Paul Sanderude vs. Brian Piotrowski IWU: 9-7
Jason Wissman Brian Sorich
2
nd Doubles:
Weston Kalogeridis vs. Nick Kenaga Prin: 8-5
Nate Waters Aaron Guenther
3
rd Doubles:
Kevin Hagenlocher vs. Kevin Piotrowski Prin: 8-3
Brian Wold Ashwin Radhakrishnan
1
st Singles:
Paul Sanderude vs. Brian Piotrowski IWU: 7-5, 6-2
2
nd Singles:
Jason Wissman vs. Brian Sorich Prin: 6-4, 7-6 (3)
3
rd Singles:
Weston Kalogeridis vs. Nick Kenaga IWU: 6-1, 6-0
4
th Singles:
Nate Waters vs. Aaron Guenther Prin: 6-4, 6-2
5
th Singles:
Kevin Hagenlocher vs. Kevin Piotrowski Prin: 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
6
th Singles:
Brian Wold vs. Genyl Rufino Prin: 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2)
