Tennis teams dominate at home

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    By Sokphal Tun

    The men”s and women”s tennis teams took advantage of their home court by dominating in all four of their games over the weekend.

    The women (4-6) showed they were not concerned about their opponents” rankings by sweeping their matches against Kansas and No. 12 Washington.

    After defeating Kansas 5-2 on Friday, the Cougars were warmed up for their biggest match of the weekend against the Huskies on Saturday afternoon.

    “Going into the game to begin with we said that we were going to put our absolute best effort and see what happens,” head coach Craig Manning said.

    In doubles the Cougars lost down the line and they were defeated quickly in the No. 1 and 2 spot in singles, leaving the Cougars 0-3.

    The Cougars” points started to come when junior Lu Oswald defeated junior Colleen Gray 6-2, 7-6.

    The Cougars then defeated junior Liza Khoudoiarova who has won her last three matches on the road and has a 12-5 record in singles play. Junior Dominique Reynolds also had an intense game and defeated freshman Dea Sumantri in two sets 7-5, 6-3.

    The final match was the determining factor for the Cougars because they came into it with the score 3-3.

    In the No. 6 spot was freshman sensation Nicole Schneider who was on the rebound from a previous loss on Friday.

    During doubles with the Huskies, Schneider lost the first set to sophomore Erin Hoe 2-6.

    In singles Schneider showed she was not out of the game by fighting back and forcing the match into three sets before clinching the win (6-2, 7-5, 7-5) for the Cougars.

    “To win is huge, especially for Nicole because she lost yesterday,” Manning said. “She did everything she learned from yesterday.”

    Staying calm and focused were the main goals for Schneider.

    “I was up 5-2 in the third set,” she said. “But I started getting nervous and when Nikki won I just told myself to keep on going.”

    The men”s team (4-5) blanked Utah State 7-0 Friday and clinched a 5-2 victory over the University of Portland on Saturday.

    In doubles, the Cougars dominated and easily received the doubles point.

    Switch-ups were needed when senior Gert Vilms pulled his hamstring after doubles. The only option for the Cougars was to pull him out and move everyone up a spot in singles.

    “It was an important win for us because we won without our top two players,” said head coach Jim Osborne. “Gert and Carlos lost in doubles and at the No. 1 spot in singles, but we were strong all the way down,”

    The women”s next game is against Washington State on Monday at 11 a.m.

    The men will play their second to last home game against the University of Denver at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be played at the Smith Fieldhouse indoor courts.

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