Tennis improves to 10-3 overall, 1-2 in MIAA

The Emporia State tennis teams are approaching the heart of their schedules in the coming weeks. Conference play has begun, as both the women and the men played in Kirksville, Mo. over spring break. Both of the Hornet’s squads fell to the Truman State Bulldogs, with the men losing 3-6 while the women fell just short with a 5-6 loss. Those losses dropped the women’s record to a respectable 4-1, while the men are just behind them with a 3-2 overall record.

Both teams were 0-1 in conference play heading into the women’s Wednesday matches against MIAA foe Missouri Western.Wednesday’s weather was cool and breezy. The weather was not unfamiliar to the Hornets, as head coach John Cayton explained that his team has been battling the weather and wind all season.

“It’s been tough; the weather has really limited our ability to practice. The wind is tough,” Cayton said. “We should have had twice as many matches as we’ve had. We’ve been playing teams with that many matches this season.”

Cayton said that conference play is coming up, which is a part of the season his team focuses on and places an emphasis on.

“We lost the conference opener to Truman. That was unfortunate, as it was the perfect situation for us. We weren’t as prepared as we should have been,” Cayton said. “The parity in the MIAA is great, and we’ve got some great matches coming up.”

The Hornets will play matches in Hays, Ks. this weekend, including matches with CSU-Pueblo and Nebraska-Kearney. Conference play will open with matches against Missouri Southern on April 2nd in Emporia.

The results from the matches were unavailable at the time of printing. Look for them in the next issue of The Bulletin.