The men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to the west coast to take on a series of California schools during break. Both teams ended the trips with victories.
The men took an early lead in singles play against the University of California Lutheran as the Tigers took home all six victories.
Senior Dan Rodefeld defeated Cal Lutheran’s Dara Kashani at no. 1 singles 6-1, 6-4. Senior Patrick Farrell then got taken to the brink in his first sets but won 7-6 after a 7-5 victory in the tiebreaker. He won the match with a 6-2 win in the second set.
Sophomore Greg Frauenheim fell behind in the first set of no. 3 singles with a 2-6 loss, but bounced back and won the final two sets 7-6 and 10-5. Sophomore Peter Barcot won 6-1, 6-1 at no. 4 singles. Senior Nate Wallace and senior Harold Martin finished it off with wins in no. 5 and no. 6 doubles, respectively.
The team did not fare as well in doubles matches as both no. 1 and no. 2 doubles lost to the Kingsmen. The no. 3 doubles pair of Wallace and Martin recorded the only win with an 8-6 victory.
Sophomore Alex Bertolini was impressed with how the team responded after being down after their doubles matches.
“We're known as a strong doubles team and usually have the lead going into singles, but that wasn't the case against them,” Bertolini said. “The fact that we were able to overcome the early deficit and use our singles to win the match is very promising and makes us excited and confident for the remaining matches.”
The win improves the men’s record to 5-7. They travel to West Ben, Wisconsin to take on Gustavus Aldophus on Saturday.
The 30th-ranked women’s team took on the 35th-ranked Gustavus Aldophus on the same day. The team needed every victory they got as they squeaked out a 5-4 win.
The Tigers got out to a quick lead with wins in no. 2 and no. 3 doubles from junior Alyssa Seneviratne and first-year Meredith Breda and sophomores Megan Galle and Sarah Wilder, respectively. Seneviratne and Breda won 8-5 and Galle and Wilder won 8-4. The Lions responded with a victory as Seniors Maddie Lee and Gretchen Wilder lost their no. 1 doubles match 8-6.
The teams split their four singles matches to give DePauw the victory.
Gretchen Wilder won her no. 2 match 6-1, 6-4. Sophomore Ali Bush fell behind after losing her first match 6-7, but responded with 6-1 and 6-3 wins to take the no. 3 flight. Galle also fought from behind to win the no. 6 flight 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Lee lost a hard fought no. 1 matchup as she dropped a tight third set 7-6. Sophomore Colleen Morris and Seneviratne also lost at no. 4 and no. 5 singles, respectively.
Galle believes the win could be a turning point in the season for the team.
“Our win against Gustavus was really a breakthrough for us,” Galle said. “We were very excited that we were able to pull that win out. We felt a lot more confident in our games and fought hard for every point.”
The win improves their record to 7-4. The team takes the court again on Friday as they travel to Madison, Wisconsin to compete in the Midwest Invitational.