The men’s tennis team competed against Wheaton College on Saturday March 27th, but due to mother nature being unpredictable, the Warhawks had to move to Lake Geneva to play. This, however, did not stop the Warhawks from winning 8-1. 

The Warhawks faced some challenges and obstacles on Saturday. Some athletes attained injuries during matches, there was some intense competition, and due to the weather they had to move to an indoor location. This, however, did not bring the Warhawks down. They persevered and gave it their all which led them to win another tennis tournament. 

“Our guys, skill wise, we were well prepared. We just have to come out with a little more energy…all the teams figured out a way to win which is always a positive,” said head coach Frank Barnes. 

Starting off the eventful day, the Warhawks got off to a slow start. The team knew they needed to grind it out more and get down to business which is exactly what they did. Cole Lindwall and Brayden Copp came in clutch for the singles matches. They both stuck it out and gave it their all receiving winning scores of 6-1 and 6-2. Alex Gray also had some tough competition. He played against one of the best tennis players in the nation, yet Gray managed to win the second set. 

“I think we did really well. We’ve been playing a lot lately. Guys have had some injuries and stuff like that, but overall in general we are trying to keep the intensity high and play hard and keep our momentum going,” said junior Noah Guillermo. 

The doubles competition happened to be just as competitive as the singles competition. Alex Gray and Ryan Mitchell competed in a doubles match with one another and guided one another through each set. They won their match with a score of 8-3. Cole Lindwall and Noah Guillermo also competed in the doubles competition and they upped their game leading them to win their match  8-7 (7-5). The other Warhawks who played in the doubles competition were Parker Hearne and Ridley Aranda. Both of these Warhawks unified with one another to win their match as well with a score of 8-5. 

“We played pretty well today. They’re the best team we’ve played this year, but we had some tight matches. Hopefully this helps prepare us for the upcoming conference season,” said head coach for Wheaton College Brad Phil.

The Warhawks have won a total of six games and have only lost one. They will continue to practice hard and learn from their mistakes and work together as a team to win future games. The next time the men’s tennis team will compete will be on Sunday April 11th against  Coe College in Cedar Rapids.