The men’s tennis team took a clean 9-0 sweep over Centre College on Friday and did not lose a single set in a 9-0 win over College of Wooster on Saturday.
Seniors Pat Farrell and Dan Rodefeld got the Tigers off to a quick start on Friday with 8-1 wins at No. 1 doubles. Seniors Nate Wallace and Harold Martin also captured a win for the Tigers at No. 3 doubles, and seniors Matt Santen and John Daseke followed with an 8-5 win at the No. 2 flight.
The Tigers win against Centre was the first win of their spring season. “We started the season with possibly the three toughest matches of our year,” Stanton said. “That was difficult but it definitely made us better going forward.” Santen took a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles against on Friday.
Sophomore Greg Frauenheim fought back from a 0-6 first set defeat to win 0-6, 6-1, 10-7. His fight demonstrated the Tigers motivation to win this season. “I think our biggest strength is our experience, team chemistry and ability to work hard every single day,” Stanton said. “The team is very motivated to win and I think that will show this season.”
Saturday was successful as well for the Tigers. At No. 1 and No. 2 singles, Rodefeld and Farrell were taken to the brink with Rodefeld and Farrell winning 6-0, 7-5 and 6-3, 7-5 respectively. They also demonstrated great teamwork at No. 1 doubles, capturing an 8-6 win.
Farrell is a senior this year for the Tigers and is ready to do some damage this season. “I think if we all focus and play great doubles like I know we can, our singles will follow and we can make a run into the NCAA tournament,” Farrell said.
Santen defeated his opponent 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Following him, Frauenheim took the first set 6-3 and won the second set via retirement at No. 4 singles. Other wins against Wooster came when sophomore Petar Barcot and Wallace won at No. 5 and 6 singles respectively.
Rodefeld is satisfied with how the season is going so far for men’s tennis. “I look forward to what we can accomplish this season,” Rodefeld said.
Men’s tennis has a couple weeks to prepare for their next match, which gives them time for improvements. “We competed really well this past weekend, but got off to a few bad starts,” Ferrell said. “As a team, we need to work on limiting the bad starts and focus on starting off strong.”
The wins improve the team’s record to 3-3. They compete next March 11 against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at Blackstock Courts.