Elsah, IL– The Principia Panthers Men's Tennis Team played their second SLIAC conference match this afternoon against the Westminster College Blue Jays. The Panthers had been preparing for over a week for this match, and the preparation showed early as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after doubles play. From there, Principia seized all the momentum and rolled to the 8-1 victory.
At 1
st doubles,
Greg Sovie and
Brody Swan played excellent tennis. Finishing at the net and hitting overheads, Sovie and Swan were aggressive all match. They got an early break of serve on their opponents and never looked back as they came away with the 8-4 victory. At 2
nd doubles,
Jules Kitchingman and
Nat Kenworthy started extremely strong. Their consistent backcourt play and timely volleys gave them a 3-0 lead. After the gap was closed to 3-2, Kitchingman and Kenworthy again pushed forward with their attacking play. They won 8-3. At 3
rd doubles,
Dan Wagstaff and
Peter Griswold played their best match of the season. Wagstaff and Griswold were solid with their serves and groundstrokes and were steady at the net. They had little trouble as they came away with the 8-2 victory.
With a 3-0 lead after doubles, Principia was able to loosen up in singles and they were able to play some excellent tennis. At 1
st singles,
Jules Kitchingman was as steady as can be all match. His consistency and speed is tough to deal with for an entire match and he was able to pull away from his opponent. Kitchingman won 6-3, 6-2. At 2
nd singles,
Greg Sovie dictated play throughout. Sovie used his slice backhand to gain the advantage in the points, and he was able to finish off the points at net. Sovie won 6-1, 6-0. At 3
rd singles,
Nat Kenworthy showed excellent heart throughout his match. After losing a tough first set 7-6 (6), Kenworthy regrouped and played a better second set. He was able to remain steady in the big points and won the set 6-4. However, in the third set tiebreaker, Kenworthy lost his way as some untimely unforced errors proved to be his undoing as he fell 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-3.
At 4
th singles,
Brody Swan continued his improved singles play. Dominating with his big serve and tough groundstrokes, Swan had the upper hand from the beginning. Swan easily won 6-0, 6-0. At 5
th singles,
Dan Wagstaff played steady tennis, using his booming serve and his heavy groundstrokes to put pressure on his opponent. Wagstaff came away with the 6-0, 6-3 victory. At 6
th singles,
Peter Griswold played a dominant first set, winning 6-1. However, in the second set, Griswold lost his way a bit as he fell behind 4-1. After saving 4 set points, Griswold fell in the second set 7-5. In the third set tiebreaker, Griswold was able to refocus and find his game, coming away with the 6-1, 5-7, 10-5 win.
Principia is now 2-0 in SLIAC play and 6-6 overall on the season. The Panthers jump right back into SLIAC play as they travel to St. Louis to take on the Webster Gorloks on Saturday April, 8
th at 10:00 AM. The match will be played at the Webster Groves Tennis Center.
