The Goshen College men’s tennis team jumped their record over .500 this past Saturday with a narrow 5-4 win over Taylor University while the women fell to the Trojans 9-0 at the Goshen College Tennis Complex.
The Leaf men (5-4, 4-3 CL) were forced to start from behind early as they dropped two of their three doubles matches heading into the singles portion of the afternoon.Tennis Director Evan Atkinson commented on the slow start. “We make the wrong choices far too often and it costs us each match. It’s challenging to come from behind in these matches and puts a lot of pressure on our singles play. Thankfully our guys were ready for the task today,” he said.
Sophomore Juan Miguel Ciudad jumpstarted the comeback attempt with a win at the second singles spot. Ciudad needed three sets to pick up the come-from-behind win 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Three sets were also necessary for junior Kartikeya Sharma at the third slot. After losing the first set 3-6, Sharma bounced back and took the final two sets 6-2, 6-4.
Also claiming wins in singles were senior Aritha Weerasinghe by score of 7-5, 6-2 and Lukas Kanther, a first-year, by way of 7-6(4), 6-3. Weerasinghe also teamed up with partner Eric Zuercher, a junior, to win their doubles match 8-4.
With the conference win, the Maple Leafs sit comfortably in fifth place in Crossroads League standings and have claimed a spot in CL tournament play with just three matches remaining on the schedule.
On the women’s side, the Maple Leafs (0-7, 0-7 CL) were able to pick up four games in doubles play between the two teams but they still came up short in the match losing to Taylor University 9-0.
“Our women are improving every time they step on the court,” said Atkinson. “They are getting more accustomed to the pace of the college game and are able to stay in points for longer periods of time, making better shots. Every step counts for us and we continue to move forward.”
Both men and women will be in action this coming Saturday as they host the Foresters of Huntington University at 11:00am.
