03/28/08
After two weeks of cancellations and a busy upcoming schedule, four tennis players traveled to Newton for the Bethel Invitational last Friday and then both teams won their first home meet Wednesday.
The Baker women’s team won its match against Missouri Valley College 5-4 in dramatic fashion. The match was tied 4-4 with sophomore Taylor Bonar playing in the final match of the night. Bonar trailed in her final set 0-3 before winning six straight games to win the match and to give a victory for Baker.
Freshmen Allie Stephens and Molly Flanigan also won their matches. The doubles team of Lawrenz and Shank and the team of Bonar and Flanigan both won their doubles matches.
The men’s team won its match 6-3 over Missouri Valley. Freshman Bozo Zaputovic won his singles match in three sets and senior captain Michael Angarita won his match in two sets.
Junior Hunter Hollarn and sophomore Ricky Palm both won their matches in two sets. Junior Trevor Hedberg lost his match in two sets and freshman Andrew Posch lost his match in three sets, loosing a tiebreaker in the third set.
The team of Hedberg and Posch, and Palm and Hollarn, both won their matches.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are now 1-0 in conference play.
Coach Rick Walsh said the Bethel Invitational was optional for players.
“We will improve dramatically once we play a couple of matches in a row,” Walsh said. “Tennis is all about rhythm.”
Zaputovic and Angarita were the two athletes from the men’s team who performed at the tournament. Zaputovic and Angarita both won their first two rounds before Zaputovic lost to the No. 3-ranked player from Graceland, while Angarita lost to the No. 1 Graceland player. Graceland’s men’s team is ranked 12th nationally while Benedictine College is ranked 16th in the country.
“So far, we had a tough match against Barton County, and it will get tougher when we face Graceland and Benedictine,” Angarita said.
The two Baker women athletes at the Bethel tournament were Lawrenz and Shank. Shank won her first match but then fell to the No. 3-ranked Graceland player. Lawrenz won her first two rounds before losing to the No. 1 overall ranked player, Paige McKinney, from Bethel.
While several of the teams’ early season tournaments have been canceled due to the weather, the season will start to pick up. The weather is looking to be more favorable as the temperatures heat up, and the players should be able to practice outside on a regular basis.
“You have to deal with more conditions with the weather outside, even the bounces and the feel of the ball is different,” Palm said. “The team feels more comfortable outdoors.”
The Wildcats had a tournament Thursday against Johnson County Community College, but results were unavailable at presstime. Baker will face McKendree University Saturday in Marshall, Mo., and will play William Jewell College Tuesday in Baldwin City.
“We need to be getting as much reps in as possible, adjusting to the wind and mentally be ready to play,” Walsh said.
Palm said they would have to try and not work their bodies too much, since tennis is such an active sport, and to stretch and keep it light in between matches.
The next home match is against William Jewell Tuesday and the Oklahoma Christian College tournament will also be held April 11 in Baldwin City.
Angarita said he would like to invite people to attend the home matches and that the support would really help make a difference.