This weekend, the women's tennis team steamrolled their competition on the way to a fourth consecutive championship while the men came up just short.
The women beat Colorado College 9-0 on Friday, Centre College 8-1 on Saturday and Sewanee: The University of the South 7-2 on Sunday to claim the championship. The men started brightly by beating Colorado College 9-0 on Friday and ground out a tough win against Rhodes College 5-4 on Saturday, but lost 3-6 to Trinity University on Sunday.
Head coach Scott Riggle was far from disappointed in the men's team.
"I was really proud of them," he said. "They left everything on the court."
He also praised the team for the extremely hard-fought semi-final against Rhodes, which they won by a single set from freshman Sam Miles in the final single after a tremendous team effort.
"They battled hard against Trinity and did everything they could. I thought we played really well," Riggle said. "We were just a few points away in a few positions, but [Trinity] played well and deserved the championship."
The season still isn't over for the men, who play Washington University in St. Louis in early May, and they still have a chance to get a bid to the NCAA regionals.
Riggle, also the women's head coach, knew how hard the team worked to get to the top.
"I'm so proud of them, really happy for the seniors," he said
He also elaborated on how the women worked hard all season to change their doubles game from a weakness early in the season into one of their greatest strengths at the end. That hard work paid off in the final match when the Tigers produced a series of stunning comebacks to win all three of their doubles matches when they had been on the verge of losing two of them.
Senior Lizzy Whitlatch is one of three seniors on the team and was pleased with the energy the women showed in their games.
"I think overall we performed very well as a team this weekend," she said. "We definitely improved with each match. Our level of play and energy was specifically evident during our championship match against Sewanee. As a team we came out ready to play and that showed throughout the entire weekend."
Like others on her team, Whitlatch isn't getting carried away with a big win and is firmly focused on the games ahead.
As the women turn their attention ahead to a match against Washington University in St. Louis and then NCAA regionals, Whitlatch said "the match that is in front of us is always the most important match of the year."
Though the next match is important to both teams, the men have an extra incentive to win.
"Winning the conference guarantees us a spot in the NCAA tournament, which was one of our team's goals," said Hunter Schouweiler, the team's lone senior. "There is still a chance to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, which makes our match against Wash U. in two weeks very important as well."
Schouweiler and the rest of the men's team will be looking to improve their game as the women's team hopes to maintain their momentum at home against Washington University St. Louis on May 7th.
Students can arrive at 9 a.m. for the men's game and noon for the women's game to support their team in this all-important final game of the regular season.
