By Koppany Jordan
Elm Staff Writer
Men’s tennis treated the campus this past Saturday with a big 8-1 win. On the first day of what would become a three day weekend, life was hustling and bustling on the Washington College campus. With an open house on Saturday, March 23, prospective students were given the chance to see how things are run at a small liberal arts campus here. Prospective students were given the chance to see almost all of the Shoremen spring sports in action. It could not have been a better day for Washington College to showcase what it has to offer.
One sport that surprised visitors was the men’s tennis team as they competed against McDaniel College. Winning 8-1, some were surprised at the strength of the small, mighty WC team.
Opening their first home match of the season, as well as the first conference match, the Shoremen knew what they had to do. Coming back from a spring break that featured two matches of 5-4 losses. WC was determined not to let the Green Terror get past them. In addition, their coach was not present to help them as he was with the Shorewomen at Dickinson. They knew they had to play strong.
Despite some early strong winds, the sun came out as the Shoremen warmed up and began doubles matches.
While Dan Boaté and Ryan Holtschneider won their match 8-3, one match that was fascinating was that of junior Joel Novick and senior Andy Pearson. Beginning down 1-2, things seemed to get worse as the score became 1-4. However, keeping faith in themselves, the duo reversed the score to lead 6-5. A great comeback for the doubles partners, they sealed the deal with an 8-6 win over Tom Orrok and Jacob Lorenz of McDaniel. By the end of doubles, the Shoremen led 3-0.
As the weather continued to improve, more people joined other spectators to watch the match. A campus visitor remarked that she had no idea that the school had such a strong tennis team as the singles matches went on.
The Shoremen continued to present themselves well and their strength and determination bolstered school spirit for those at the match. With Holtschneider’s and Novick’s wins at number four and number five singles, the Shoremen had secured their first home win of the season. The job was not finished and with the rest of the team’s single wins and losses, the team finished 8-1 with a record of 2-2.
Following the match, sophomore Dan Boaté said that they “anticipated a tough match and got one. We just took care of business for the win.”
A great match that impressed many, the Shoremen return to action on Friday at home against non-conference Randolph Macon College. Go show your support and cheer on the team to victory at 3:30 p.m. and also Saturday against Frankin and Marshall at noon.