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February 14, 2006
Thrill of victory, agony of defeat, and two squads "heading" in the right direction
With spring only weeks, a vat of VapoRub, and a flu shot away, the Pipers embark on their tennis journey, one that would make even Henry VIII proud. As you all well know, Big Henry’s version of the game included a rigid sheepskin ball filled with sawdust, sand, or wool. Our balls, however, have more bounce. Oh yeah, did I mention we are good? Mens tennis started out their season last Sunday, sweeping St. Scholastica 9-0, and proving once again that our Piper is a far better and more original mascot than the St. Scholastica Saints. Hamline Hams, anyone? Womens tennis faired worse statistically this weekend, falling 6-3, but rest assured, they psyched the Saints out.
Hamline mens tennis won in straight sets, taking five of the six singles matches. Co-captains Ben Watkins and Jon Henning made easy work of Ryan Antony and Will Ruckel, respectively. Watkins took the match a 6-1, 6-2 while Henning triumphed 6-2, 6-2. Both were performances worthy of Bjorn Borg and Johnny McEnroe.
When asked how he felt about the men’s performance, head coach Dan Haertl had this to say, “They are very competitive. They have worked very hard. We are a team of all juniors and seniors. Our guys have experience and know what they are doing. Last year we faced St. Scholastica and played them to an 8-1 game. They have a better team this year and we were able to win 9-0. We were able to do a lot of things well.”
That is not to say, of course, that Sunday’s matches did not have an ample supply of drama. Andy Carlson pulled a sheepskin out of a hat, coming back from a tie-break loss in the second set to win a super tie-breaker in the third set. Carlson won 6-3, 6-7, 10-8.
The Piper women fell 6-3 to St. Scholastica, but finished undoubtedly better than Big Henry’s six wives. This young team led by venerable veteran co-captains Trina Ellis and Lacy Schumann looks to improve on last year’s success.
“Overall the team did really well being that it was mostly younger people. They really stepped it up,” said Schumann.
Hamline got a spark from junior Kristen Bothun, who picked up two wins Sunday afternoon. She defeated Steph Sperby 6-2, 2-6, 10-7 in number-one singles play. With the assistance of teammate Kelly Gust, Bothun defeated Sperby and Jess Rich in number-one doubles, 8-5.
“They were pretty much first-years. They don’t have a lot of experience yet. They got that first match and the setting of playing in this place, and that’s intense,” said Schumann.
Hamline’s third victory came from junior Andrea Eilertson, who defeated Mary Lidermann 6-4, 6-3 in number-six singles play.
“I think our womens team is much better than last year. Once we get into conference and start playing conference teams, that will give us a clear idea of what we need to work on,” said coach Haertl.
Things appear to be “heading” in the right direction for Hamline tennis. There is, of course, the empirical fact that overall we won 12 of 18 matches. There is also that we still have our heads. Our balls bounce better than sheepskin. Perhaps most important, though, is the enthusiasm which exists with the players and coaches.
Posted by dwright at February 14, 2006 02:30 PM
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