St. Louis, MO
On this beautifully sunny spring day, the Principia Panthers took on the Greenville Panthers in a titanic showdown for the SLIAC Championship. This was a rematch of last year's Championship where Principia defeated Greenville 5-3 for the title. Earlier this season, Principia traveled to Greenville for their regular season matchup, and it was Greenville that took the early season match with a tight 5-4 victory. Today the Principia Panthers came out and played with a fire and determination that was characteristic of a championship quality team. They were able to take two out of three doubles matches to take the crucial 2-1 lead going into singles play. Principia carried their momentum into singles and played the most inspired tennis they have played all year, as they came away with a hard earned 5-1 victory, crowning them as SLIAC Champions.
At 1st doubles,
Joey Sander and
Brody Swan came out on a mission. After losing in their match yesterday against Westminster, Sander and Swan were focused and played some of their best doubles of the year. They dominated on serve and made continuous great plays at the net. They were the first match completed, as they cruised to the 8-2 victory. At 2nd doubles,
Jules Kitchingman and
Aaron Switzer were unable to match their play from yesterday. They played well in stretches, but did not do enough to hold serve in two crucial games. They were the second match off as they fell 8-3, tying the match at 1-1. This left 3rd doubles in
Nat Kenworthy and
Doug DuFur on, as they had the opportunity to earn the ever important second doubles point. Kenworthy and DuFur stuck to their game plan throughout that match. They valued consistency over power and were able to lower the amount of unforced errors that they made in losing their regular season match against Greenville. After being up a break most of the match, Kenworthy found himself serving tied at 6-6. The game stretched to deuce, but Kenworthy and DuFur were able to hold, making it 7-6. With great determination and encouragement from their teammates, they played a flawless return game, breaking Greenville and taking the match 8-6.
Being up 2-1 after doubles was a huge boost to Principia, as they were down 1-2 in their first meeting against Greenville College. At 1st singles, senior co-captain
Joey Sander capped a historic collegiate career with a flawless match. Sander mixed his offense and defense expertly, as he made life difficult for his opponent. He defeated his opponent 6-0, 6-0. Sander finished his excellent SLIAC singles career with an undefeated record. This win gave Principia a 3-1 lead overall in the match. At 4th singles,
Brody Swan came out with the poise and grit of an upperclassman, although he is a freshman. Swan understood his gameplan and executed it flawlessly. Swan hit his booming serve, used his heavy forehand approach shots, and finished with his great hands. Swan lost to his opponent 3-6, 2-6 in the regular season match, but trusted that he could come away with the victory. After a tight first set, Swan played even better in the second set, making very few unforced errors and forcing his opponent into tight spots. Swan came away with the 6-4, 6-2 win, putting Principia one match away from the title.
That winning match would come from
Jules Kitchingman in the 2nd singles spot. Tied at 2-2 in the first set, Kitchingman played a twenty minute service game that went to somewhere between 15 and 20 deuces. After saving a multitude of break points, Kitchingman found a way to win the game, holding serve and making it 3-2. Kitchingman was able to gradually wear down his opponent with his unrelenting speed, consistency, and top spin. After winning the first set 6-4, Kitchingman kept his pedal to the metal going up 5-0 in the second set. After falling behind 0-40 in the sixth game of the set, he climbed all the way back in the game and had his first and only match point that he would need. As the Greenville ball fell into the net, Kitchingman clinched victory for Principia giving them the necessary five wins to secure the match.
Although the final score of 5-1 may not appear close, Principia was in hard fought battles in all of the other matches remaining on court. At 3rd singles,
Nat Kenworthy was playing some excellent tennis, but his opponent was just slightly more steady in the big moments. When the match ended, Kenworthy was down 5-7, 2-4. At 5th singles, senior co-captain
Aaron Switzer stepped up in a huge way in his first set. After getting beat 0-6, 0-6 in his regular season match against his opponent, Switzer showed the improvements that he has made throughout the season. He dominated the first set 6-2. As the second set started, Switzer's play dropped slighly and his opponents play picked up. When the match was stopped, Switzer was trailing 6-2, 2-6, 2-4. At 6th singles,
Dan Wagstaff started off well, going up 3-0 on his way to the 6-3 first set victory. However, Wagstaff's play cooled and his opponent refused to make any errors and the match flipped in the second set, as Wagstaff lost 2-6. As play was stopped, Wagstaff was slightly behind 6-3, 2-6, 1-2.
It was a sublime effort by the Principia Panthers as they took home the SLIAC Championship. This was the 3rd SLIAC Championship in a row for the Principia Men's Tennis Team and their fourth in five seasons. This gives Principia 14 SLIAC Men's Tennis Championships, the most in the conference. We want to express our gratitude for our seniors
Joey Sander and
Aaron Switzer for their excellent careers. Thank you for all your leadership, hard work, and dedication to the Principia College Men's Tennis Team over the course of your four years!
To see some video highlights taken by the SLIAC Sports Information Director,
click here!
