Orlando—
After yesterday's subpar showing, the Men's Tennis Team was really looking to bounce back with a better performance against Colorado College. Although the outcome was not a victory, the Panthers played much better tennis today and set a better standard of play for the rest of the season.
Yesterday was filled with lackluster doubles by the Panthers. Today, that was certainly not the case. At 1
st doubles,
Jason Wissman and
Joey Sander started slow, but flipped the switch after being down 4-1. Wissman and Sander played some of the best doubles they have played all year, as they won seven of the last eight games to win 8-5. The 2
nd doubles team of
Kevin Hagenlocher and
Kenny Sydness also started off slow, falling behind 2-0. However, they remained positive and aggressive on the court. They were able to own the net, and also play tremendous defense to win the match 8-3. The 3
rd doubles team of
Andrew Fields and
Andrew Rohrer was unable to gain any traction in their match and lost 8-0.
With a 2-1 lead after doubles, the Panthers looked to be in great position to win the match. However, as singles progressed, the men were just unable to pull out the victory.
Highlights from singles include
Jason Wissman, at 1
st singles, playing a great 2
nd set against his opponent. After losing the 1
st set, Wissman figured out his opponent and won the 2
nd set 6-1. In the end, Wissman lost the match 6-2, 1-6, 10-7. His play this year has steadily improved, and he will only get better as the season continues. At 2
nd singles,
Joey Sander was finally able to play the level of the tennis that he knows he can play. After struggling to find his strokes in the 1
st set, Sander was really able to get in a groove in the 2
nd set. As his comfort level on the court grew, Sander began to play some unbelievable tennis. He was the only person to win a singles match, as he defeated his opponent 4-6, 7-5, 10-3.
Although the Panthers lost the match, they competed far better in today's match than they did yesterday. There were many positives in this match, especially in doubles as well as 1
st and 2
nd singles. The Panthers now travel back to Principia and will continue to practice and play nonconference matches to get ready for the SLIAC season.
