The Baker University men’s and women’s tennis teams head into the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament this weekend with higher expectations than they have had in years.
“Going into the season we were just looking to rebuild,” head coach Joe Ahmadian said. “But it’s worked out to where we’ve kind of exceeded expectations and we’re ranked No. 3 on each side now.”
With nine women’s teams and seven men’s teams to play against in the HAAC tournament, the Wildcats will have some tough competition.
“Because of the season we’ve played so far and the matches we’ve played, I think we’re prepared,” freshman Zach Aldrich said. “(Ahmadian) has done a lot to get us ready for the competition we’ll see at the tournament.”
Out of the 14 players attending the HAAC tournament for the men and women, eight are freshmen. While some may call that an inexperienced team, the women’s team captain Danielle Griggs isn’t worried.
“Some of our players have never played in a conference tournament before, but we know it’s like any other match,” Griggs said. “They know we still just have to go out there and play our best.”
Keith Pipkin, men’s and women’s assistant coach, is confident in the teams as well.
“I feel like we’ve played so many matches. We’ve pretty much set them up to do the best they can do,” Pipkin said.
Both teams have played over a dozen tournaments this semester to prepare for the HAAC tournament, including the traditional alumni matches Saturday.
“It was kind of cool to meet with some of the older guys that used to play, especially when they were really good,” Aldrich said. “They gave us some advice on what we should or shouldn’t do and to keep our feet on the ground and not get too overwhelmed by what’s coming this weekend.”
In addition to playing matches, the Wildcats have used different drills in practice to get ready for the tournament.
“We’ve done some situational and scenario drills to get us ready for all aspects of the game,” Aldrich said. “We’re also hitting as much as we can to make sure we’re more than ready for any situation.”
Both teams have had more success this regular season than the past few years and now have high expectations for the HAAC tournament.
“I think a good indicator of how we can do was playing Graceland (University) last week,” Pipkin said. “The men had a good chance of winning and the women did win against Graceland, which is something I haven’t seen in my whole time at Baker. It was awesome.”
Both teams will use momentum from the regular season and their No. 3 seeds to gain confidence for the tournament.
“I hope we win and go to the national tournament,” Aldrich said. “More realistically if we play the way we should, we can make it to the finals, which would be a big jump from what the program has done in the previous years.”
Griggs said the No. 3 seeding is the highest she’s seen since she’s competed for Baker, and is confident that the teams will get through at least the first round.
Pipkin said one reason for the success the Wildcats have seen this season is the leadership.
“A few years back when the head coach job wasn’t secured to anybody, no one knew what direction the team was going; we hadn’t found our path yet,” Pipkin said. “Now with (Ahmadian) here, hopefully the team knows the path that it’s heading and we can continue on it and improve each and every year.”
While some of the success the Wildcats have had this season might have been unexpected, Ahmadian does not plan to take it for granted.
“Going into the season, we didn’t necessarily look that strong,” Ahmadian said. “But now it looks like we really can do some damage and we can’t just waste a year when we don’t know when we’ll have another shot at being a No. 3 seed.”
