Lack of players leads to Monday loss at Vincennes
By: Alex Maurer
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Sports
After thwarting the Wabash College Little Giants April 16, the DePauw men's tennis team traveled to Vincennes Monday in their final match before the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The Tigers were declawed and defeated by the Trailblazers. In a final match score of 5-2, the team dropped to 15-6 record on the season. The team fell in second and third doubles after a game win in first doubles by sophomores Will Gates and Scott Sandager. Gates went on to win at third singles, and freshman Cameron Nash won fourth singles, adding to the only points for the Tigers that night.
Since Vincennes University is not in the SCAC or Div. III, the game did not lower the team's No. 19 national ranking. Sophomore Anil Patel attributed the loss to the lack of team members able to attend the match. With academic obligations, the Tigers brought in sophomores and freshmen into playing positions.
"We did not have our number 1,2,3,4 [Senior Kortney Keith, junior Scott Swanson, junior Bryan Heck and senior Scott Sauer] players at the match. One of our third doubles players [Freshman Hunter Schouweiler] was also not there," Patel said.
Junior Bryan Heck agreed saying that academic conflicts prevented him and several of the upperclassmen to miss the game.
"It is difficult not to be playing, but it gives the other guys in the line-up a chance to play," Heck said.
Vincennes brought their A-game, played tough, but the Tigers were able to pull a couple close matches, Patel added. He believes that if their starting players had been at the match, then the Tigers stood a chance to win the match.
Patel pointed out that the match Monday was mostly for experience and to get another one under the team's belt before the conference tournament. Games like these are scheduled every season to vary the men's competition, as they played Indiana University last year.
"Of course we were upset that we lost, but right now our main focus is this Friday and Saturday," Patel said.
Both the men and women will return to action this weekend to compete in the SCAC Div. III tournament, hosted by DePauw.
The Tigers were declawed and defeated by the Trailblazers. In a final match score of 5-2, the team dropped to 15-6 record on the season. The team fell in second and third doubles after a game win in first doubles by sophomores Will Gates and Scott Sandager. Gates went on to win at third singles, and freshman Cameron Nash won fourth singles, adding to the only points for the Tigers that night.
Since Vincennes University is not in the SCAC or Div. III, the game did not lower the team's No. 19 national ranking. Sophomore Anil Patel attributed the loss to the lack of team members able to attend the match. With academic obligations, the Tigers brought in sophomores and freshmen into playing positions.
"We did not have our number 1,2,3,4 [Senior Kortney Keith, junior Scott Swanson, junior Bryan Heck and senior Scott Sauer] players at the match. One of our third doubles players [Freshman Hunter Schouweiler] was also not there," Patel said.
Junior Bryan Heck agreed saying that academic conflicts prevented him and several of the upperclassmen to miss the game.
"It is difficult not to be playing, but it gives the other guys in the line-up a chance to play," Heck said.
Vincennes brought their A-game, played tough, but the Tigers were able to pull a couple close matches, Patel added. He believes that if their starting players had been at the match, then the Tigers stood a chance to win the match.
Patel pointed out that the match Monday was mostly for experience and to get another one under the team's belt before the conference tournament. Games like these are scheduled every season to vary the men's competition, as they played Indiana University last year.
"Of course we were upset that we lost, but right now our main focus is this Friday and Saturday," Patel said.
Both the men and women will return to action this weekend to compete in the SCAC Div. III tournament, hosted by DePauw.
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