Greencastle, IN
The Principia Men's Tennis Team opened their season today in Greencastle, Indiana to face DePauw University. DePauw is ranked 6th in the Central Region and provided some stiff competition for the Panthers. Despite being unable to come away with any victories, the team was able to compete well and see what skills they need to improve upon as the season progresses.
Doubles began with
Joey Sander and
Nate Waters playing at 1st doubles. Sander and Waters started slow against their talented opponents, but found their rhythm as the set progressed. Despite hitting many good shots and playing very solid throughout their match, they were unable to make much of an impression on the scorecard. They lost 8-3.
At 2nd doubles,
Jason Wissman and
Daniel Drake began the match playing more singles strategy than doubles. However, as the match score got out of reach, Wissman and Drake really began to piece together some nice points. They lost by a score of 8-2.
At 3rd doubles,
Andrew Rohrer and
Nicholas Flanders ran up against a very solid opponent. They were unable to gain traction in their points despite hitting some very good shots. In the end, they lost 8-0.
In an exhibition doubles match,
Mason Switzer and
Vernon West got their first taste of collegiate tennis today. They kept the ball in play, but their opponents continually put the ball away. Switzer and West lost 8-0.
In singles, Principia tried to put their doubles losses behind them and focus on the task at hand. At 1st singles, Wissman was unable to play consistent enough tennis to take many games. He fell 6-0, 6-1. At 2nd singles,
Joey Sander competed hard despite not being fully match ready due to being in the middle of basketball season. Sander played a much better 2nd set, but succumbed 6-0, 6-2. At 3rd singles,
Nate Waters played well at times, coinciding with the theme of the day, was unable to string enough points together to win many games. Waters fell 6-1, 6-0.
At 5th singles,
Andrew Rohrer really played steady tennis all match. He made his opponent work hard for all his points and managed to limit his unforced errors. In the end, his opponent was too strong, as Rohrer lost 6-1, 6-1. At 6th singles,
Nicholas Flanders played very well in his first collegiate tennis match. He hit tough groundstrokes and pushed his opponent more than the scoreline suggests. Flanders lost, 6-0, 6-1.
Mason Switzer and
Vernon West both played exhibition matches and competed very well throughout their matches, but both lost by the score of 8-1.
The match of the day came at 4th singles where
Daniel Drake played some excellent tennis throughout his match. In the first set, Drake made very few unforced errors, hit the ball extremely clean, and was really on top of his game. Despite losing the 2nd set, Drake went into the 3rd set tiebreaker with a ton of confidence. Drake had match point on his serve at 12-11, but was unable to close out the match. He lost 4-6, 6-2, 14-12. Drake will look to build on this match as he moves along in the season.
The Panthers next play in the Principia Invitational Tournament all day on Feb. 13th and 14th here at Principe College. They will play against players from Missouri Baptist, Lindenwood Belleville, and Quincy University in a tournament format.
Principia DePauw Winner Score1st Doubles
Joey Sander vs Chris Bertolini DePauw 8-3
Nate Waters Dan Rodefeld
2nd Doubles
Jason Wissman vs Patrick Farrell DePauw 8-2
Daniel Drake Harold Martin
3rd Doubles
Andrew Rohrer vs Eric Vannatta DePauw 8-0
Nicholas Flanders Alec Kaczkowski
Exhibition
Mason Switzer vs Rico Lumanlan DePauw 8-0
Doubles
Vernon West Nate Wallace
1st Singles
Jason Wissman vs Chris Bertolini DePauw 6-0, 6-1
2nd Singles
Joey Sander vs Dan Rodefeld DePauw 6-0, 6-2
3rd Singles
Nate Waters vs Patrick Farrell DePauw 6-1, 6-0
4th Singles
Daniel Drake vs Eric Vannatta DePauw 4-6, 6-2, 14-12
5th Singles
Andrew Rohrer vs Rico Lumanlan DePauw 6-1, 6-1
6th Singles Nick Flanders vs Harold Martin DePauw 6-0, 6-1
Exh. Singles
Mason Switzer vs Nick Makowiecki DePauw 8-1
Exh. Singles
Vernon West vs Nick Thompson DePauw 8-1
