The Baker University women’s tennis team ended conference play with the ideal outcome Tuesday.??The women became the Heart of America Athletic Conference champions after a 7-2 victory over Benedictine College.
The Cats’ ended their regular season play with a record of 13-1 and went undefeated in conference play.??
After winning all three doubles matches, the team went on to win four of six singles matches.?
On Monday, both teams defeated conference rival, Missouri Valley College??The women won all but one match, winning 8-1, while the men split with Missouri Valley, winning 6-3.
In singles play, No. 2 junior Megan Lamb and No. 4 junior Kelsey Stephens came out ahead, winning in a tiebreaker for the third set. On the men’s side, junior Jose Mota stole a win with scored of 2-6, 7-5 and 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
“To keep an undefeated record in conference, we all have had to step up and play,” junior Marti Eidson said. “We have realized we can’t rely on the same people to win each time, but we all have to try our best to win each match.”
The men currently hold a record of 10-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The women hold a record of 12-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play.?The HAAC tournament starts today and continues all day Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
The ‘Cats took on conference rival Graceland April 13. The men suffered a 7-2 loss, but the women walked away with yet another convincing win with a score of 8-1. ?
The only two wins on the men’s side were by junior Joe Ahmadian in No. 4 singles and the team of junior Martin Renteria and freshman Trevor Hedberg in No. 3 doubles.
“We lost two sets in tiebreakers, one set 7-5, and a three-setter that meet. With just a little better execution in the clutch situations, we might have won the meet,” Hedberg said.
The team matched up against McKendree College April 6 and 9, where the men won 7-1, while the women suffered the first loss of their season a score of 5-2.
“We were playing on the road, and it was our third match of the weekend,” Lamb said. “I think this loss was good for us because it got us refocused. It showed us what we need to work on for upcoming matches and it was also a reminder that we have to come ready to play every day and that we can’t go out there and expect to win every match.”
After regrouping, the women’s team took home a win against Lindenwood April 8, with a score of 7-2, while the men won with a score of 6-3. ?In singles, the men split with Lindenwood, but went on to sweep all singles games. ?On the women’s side, they won four and lost two singles games, and went undefeated in doubles play.
The ‘Cats beat no. 24 ranked University of Illinois-Springfield April 7 with a score of 6-3. In No. 5 singles, sophomore Melissa Shank went 6-0 both games. In No. 2 doubles, the team of sophomores Courtney Struble and Melissa Shank took the only win during doubles with a score of 8-5.