The men’s tennis team has been on fire this season, blazing through its competition and winning six out of the last seven matches.
Tuesday the team went head-to-head against William Jewell College and showed no mercy, taking the win 8-1.
“I was very impressed,” head coach Bruce Anderson said. “I’ve been impressed with these guys since the beginning of the season. It’s a huge effort, and it’s a great win.”
In the past two weeks the team beat Missouri Valley College, 5-4, Missouri Baptist University, 6-3, Bethel College, 8-1, and William Jewell, 8-1.
The team’s only loss during this streak was 7-2 against Graceland University last Friday.
Senior Hunter Hollarn said the team’s latest win against William Jewell proves the men’s improvement over the course of the spring season.
“I was extremely happy,” Hollarn said. “In the fall, we beat them 6-3, so it shows that we have come together a little more as a team.”
Coming together as a team is exactly what can be said for the No. 1 doubles team of Hollarn and sophomore Bozo Zaputovic. Hollarn said from the beginning of the season the doubles team hoped to go undefeated.
“That was me and Bo’s personal goal, and we did that,” Hollarn said. “(Tuesday) was our last match, and we won that. So we finished the year undefeated in the HAAC and in the NAIA.”
As of Thursday, the duo was ranked No. 15 in the NAIA national rankings.
Hollarn said the No. 1 doubles match against Graceland last week was the highlight of his career and a proud moment for both himself and Zaputovic.
“Their doubles team was ranked, I believe No. 8 or 9 in the nation, and me and Bo beat them 8-4,” Hollarn said. “That meant a lot, and that was probably the biggest win of my entire career here at Baker.”
Tuesday was the team’s last match before the HAAC tournament. The team will be heading into the tournament at either the two or three seed, depending on how Lindenwood University finishes its season.
Hollarn said the team is hoping to get another shot to take on Graceland.
“Obviously we are looking at winning the tournament, but Graceland is pretty stacked as a team, so I’m hoping that we just get a shot and take it to nationals,” Hollarn said.
The women’s team, which has had a bit of a rockier season, hopes to have a peak performance as it heads into the conference tournament.
Freshman Layne Anderson said effort will be the most important factor for the team.
“We want to have everyone play the best they can play,” she said. “It’s not really about the scores at the end of the day but more about if we play to the best of our ability.
