The Baker tennis team hit the competition hard last weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association tournament on the plaza in Kansas City, Mo.

The annual tournament, was slightly different this year, as all teams were split into two flights.

“This year the tournament was a little different because they had a championship play and a competitive play,” coach Rick Walsh said. “We were supposed to break up our teams for the players to play in each of those two brackets.”

In the championship bracket, the women’s team sent three players to the quarterfinals, seniors Melissa Shank, Jamie Lawrenz and Kelsey Stephens.

Senior Taylor McKinley, just missed her chance at the quarterfinal play when she was matched against one of her very own teammates.

Sophomore Taylor Bonar felt Shank handled the match against McKinley well considering the circumstances.

“I think Melissa Shank really stepped up and played really well,” Bonar said. “She had a match against Taylor McKinley and putting that specific relationship aside she stepped up her game and knew what she had to do to beat her.”

Walsh said he was upset McKinley missed the chance to advance to the next round, but was happy with her level of performance in her match against Shank.

“Taylor had a great tournament and she just got beat by Melissa,” Walsh said. “I think she could have played with just about anybody else out there.”

In the competitive bracket, freshmen Molly Flanigan and Allie Stephens got a taste of the competition as they worked their way through their first year in the ITA tournament.

“Molly had a tough draw and got beat pretty easily in the first round,” Walsh said. “Allie won her close match and then got beat by the girl who ended up winning the competitive play against Taylor Bonar.”

Bonar was an obvious standout for the team in the competitive bracket, as she eased her way through each round until she reached the final match in her bracket.

“She was in competitive play and won her first two rounds on Friday,” Walsh said. “She won her next two rounds on Saturday and was not supposed to play in the championship till Sunday.”

Bonar faced her final opponent after having played through two rounds previously that day.

“The girl from Nebraska was very good,” Walsh said. “Taylor had her work cut out for her, but I would like to have seen it with her being fresh. That would have been a lot better.”

The men’s team was battling through its first and second rounds against two of last years top-ranked teams in the nation.

“Thursday night before the tournament started the director of the tournament sent out the matchups for Friday morning and somehow had inadvertently left out four of our players from the draw,” Walsh said.

The mistake was able to be fixed, but unfortunately left the Baker men facing tough competition from the top-seeded players from both Graceland University and Benedictine College early in the tournament.

“Most of us had really tough matches in the first and second rounds in doubles and singles,” senior Michael Angarita said. “So in terms of advancing to rounds, the tournament wasn’t that good for the men’s team.”

Freshman Andrew Posch had success in the competitive bracket.

“Andrew Posch played wonderful. He was the bright spot,” Walsh said.