As spring break set in on DePauw University's campus, the men's and women's tennis teams competed during the week-long break.
The teams combined to win eight matches at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
The women went 3-1 during their time down south, with wins over Wisconsin-Whitewater University, Concordia College and Carleton College and a loss against Emory University.
For the men, wins over Carleton, Oberlin College, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Colby College and North Carolina Wesleyan and a loss against Emory gave them a record of 5-1.
The highlight of the week for the men came thanks to a 7-2 win over nationally ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater.
First-years Patrick Farrell and Harold Martin won their doubles match by a score of 8-2 to help push the Tigers to victory.
"Obviously we were happy that we beat a good team, but it was nothing that we didn't expect," Farrell said. "We knew that they were a solid team, but we knew that we were a great squad too and that if we played well at every position and stuck to our game, which we did, we should win the match."
The men's team held their expectation strong as they showed their superiority by taking five of six singles matchups and two of three doubles matchups against the Warhawks. Wins from seniors Sam Miles and Ben Kopecky, sophomore Alec Kaczkowski, junior Chris Bertolini and first-year Matt Santen propelled the Tigers to victory.
The men's team faced a variety of teams during the trip including not only conference opponents but also teams from different conferences and different parts of the country.
"It was good for us to see a good variety of opponents so that we always had to keep playing better to win the next match," Farrell said. "It also did a lot for our confidence, which was extremely helpful going on into our season."
Overall victories for the Tiger men came against Carleton, Oberlin and Colby in addition to Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The women experienced similar success as they won three of their four matches. They came out victorious against Wis-consin-Whitewater, Concordia and Carleton.
"I think the biggest factor that contributed to our success over spring break was our mental toughness," junior Claire Marshall said. "In our first match, we were down 0-4 and fought our way back to win 5-4. Throughout that match, we all demonstrated extreme mental toughness by forgetting the score and focusing on the match in front of us."
The women carried that mindset into their next three matches. With the mental toughness also came a sense of focus among the women's team being in S.C. and far away from DePauw.
"I think we went in to spring break mentally and physically prepared to play some tough matches and to improve in both doubles and singles across the board at all positions," senior Meg Crowley said. "I think we reached our goal as we went undefeated on the island. There is always room to get better though and we will continue to expect and do just that with all of our future matches."
The Tigers are back in action this weekend as they take part in the Midwest Invitational in Madison, Wis. The men return to action Saturday, April 12, against Gustavus Adolphus College in Milwaukee.