The Baker men’s and women’s tennis teams got their swing on last weekend, competing in Topeka at the International Tennis Association fall tournament.

The tournament was at Kossover Park, and players from both the Heart of America Athletic Conference and other regional teams were among those present.

Winning matches at the ITA tournament allowed for national qualifying and the possibility of a paid trip to  nationals.

No Baker tennis players were able to qualify for nationals, but that didn’t keep the teams from having a positive outlook. Assistant coach Bruce Anderson also said the women fought hard at the tournament.

“I’ve never been more proud of a team than I am this team,” he said. “They have worked extra hard.”

He said that players and coaches from other teams realized maximum effort was required to beat the Baker players.

Sophomore Molly Flanigan said she believes the women’s team is improving but that evaluating the improvement is difficult with so many freshmen getting acquainted to the college level.

“It’s hard because the majority of the team is freshmen,” she said. “We don’t really know where we are at.”

Anderson said the women’s team has a lot to gain by playing because of the youth.

“This team is literally a very young team,” Anderson said. “We’ve got some really good, raw talent here.”

The women’s team has eight freshmen, two transfers and only three returning players.

Freshman Breezy Mangan believes the women’s team will be ready for competition against the HAAC conference in the spring.

“I think if we work hard in the offseason and practice hard in the spring we should (be ready),” Mangan said.

Anderson said he has been impressed with the women’s team’s work ethic.

“Our girls have been conditioning hard and hitting a lot of balls,” he said.

The tennis teams participated in exhibition matches versus Emporia State University on Wednesday afternoon. Results were not available at presstime.

The teams also will travel to participate in exhibition matches versus William Jewell College on Saturday.

Anderson said the Baker squads use the fall for several purposes, including training the new players and allowing them to get acclimated to the college level, as well as scouting other teams that will be on the schedule in the spring.