EMORY, Va. (April 19, 2009) -- The Emory & Henry men's and women's tennis teams won four of five matches over the weekend and ended their regular season of team competition with more wins than losses.
The men dominated both Virginia Wesleyan and Lynchburg colleges over the weekend, while the women defeated Hollins University and Lynchburg College and dropped a close match to Virginia Wesleyan.
The women likely would have joined the men in victory celebrations against Virginia Wesleyan had they not played without their No. 1 seed Savannah Tickle, who continues to be sidelined by a foot injury. Despite the absence of Tickle in recent games, the women have ended the regular season among the top four in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, a goal the young team had set out to achieve as the season began.
For the men, it was textbook tennis as they dropped only one team point -- a doubles loss to Lynchburg -- in both matches. The men ended their season 9-8 overall and 4-4 in the ODAC, while the women finished 10-8 overall and 6-4 in the ODAC, a significant achievement given the strength of tennis competition in the ODAC and the tough non-conference competition the teams chose to play in the fall and during spring break.
Head Coach Jim Barker has been delighted by the efforts of his teams so far. "The men have played very well and I've been very encouraged by the depth of the team," Barker said. "The women have been perhaps more extraordinary given the fact that all of them are freshmen and sophomores."
Over the weekend, the men were strong across their line-up. No. 1 Ben Blevins won both of his singles matches easily. at No. 2, Chip Wintringham lost only four games in the two matches he played while No. 3 Kelly McCall finished off both of his opponents in straight sets. Other singles winners for the men were Michael Rogers, No. 4; Brian Butler, No. 5; and Chris Wojtera, No. 6.
In the absence of Tickle, the women's road to victory was not as simple. In the team's 5-4 victory over Hollins Friday, the team relied on Jessi Williams at No. 3, Kandyce Baker at No. 4 and Lauren Dalton at No. 6 to help them to the win. In doubles play, Jess Williams and Jill Williams won at No. 2, while Baker and Kaylee Gallant were winners at No. 3.
In the teams 6-1 victory over Lynchburg Sunday, Jill and Jessi Williams were singles winners at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. Baker and Dalton added singles wins at No. 4 and No. 6 respectively. In doubles, the Williams sisters were winners at No. 2 while Baker and Gallant won at No. 3.
Both teams will begin ODAC competition this weekend in Lexington.