Tennis team to take on Ichabods

The Emporia State tennis teams are off to a strong start of the spring campaign. The men are 5-1 on the season, while the women are a perfect 4-0 this spring.

The women started off the season ranked #24 in the country, and have yet to lose. A few of the opponents that the Hornets have defeated this season are Winona State, Newman, and Mesa State. Even with their undefeated record, the women have slipped in the rankings, falling to #26 nationally.

The men did not begin their season with the same national attention that the women did, but have fared nearly as well nonetheless. The men’s only loss up to now is against Mesa State on March 6th. They have defeated all the same opponents as the women, but another win against Mesa State from the fall is chalked up in their record.

The men’s roster has six men on it, allowing for three doubles teams to play every time the team hits the courts. On Monday the men went 1-2 in doubles against Mesa State.

The women also have three doubles teams, though they have seven women on the roster. On Monday, the women went 3-0 in doubles.

In singles play, the men fared well on Monday. Though the men’s number one singles player, Kent Grossling, lost to his Mesa State counterpart in three sets, the rest of the ESU men won their matches in straight sets.

The women had an equally dominating performance against Mesa State. Emporia State only dropped one match, the number four position, with the rest of the wins coming in straight sets as well.

The Hornets next matches will be against rival Washburn University, in the tennis version of the ‘Turnpike Tussle’. The matches will be in Topeka on Friday, March 14th at 2:00 p.m. The next home matches will be on the Wednesday during spring break against Metro State. All of Emporia’s home matches are held at the Emporia High tennis courts.