UW-Eau Claire men’s and women’s tennis teams are both coming to the end of their competitive seasons.

On Friday, April 14, the men’s tennis team competed in Whitewater, Wisconsin against the Warhawks, according to the Blugolds Athletics page. The matches ended in a 9-0 win for the Warhawks. 

Brian Biernat, the head coach of the men’s tennis team, said the Blugolds have been competing against some of the top teams in the country.

“It’s how you play when you play face to face, and yesterday I gave them a ton of credit. They played really well,” Biernat said.

Kole Kolinski, a fifth-year kinesiology student, said the team likes to take what they can from matches and learn from it, showing up and putting their hearts on the courts.

“If you look at those individual scores, a lot of them could have gone either way,” Kolinski said. “There was nothing stopping that from being a 7-2 win, a 5-4 win or a 5-4 loss.”

According to the Blugold Athletics page, the men’s tennis team competed five days before facing the Warhawks. On Monday, April 10, the Blugolds faced UW-Superior in River Falls, Wisconsin.

The Blugolds won the set of matches 7-2, losing one set of doubles and one set of singles, according to the recap page.

According to Biernat, the men’s tennis team has grown strong over the COVID-19 years as the team has stayed the same and few are graduating. The team has players from all over the world and formed a team here in Eau Claire.

“It’s pretty impressive with a team in the middle of the state,” Biernat said. “Yes it is cold here, but we have warm hearts. It’s a great place. You’re going to make your best friendships coming here.”

For the women’s tennis team, the latest set of matches was scheduled for Sunday, April 16, according to the Blugold Athletics page. The matches were scheduled against Saint Olaf in Minnesota, but were canceled the week leading up to them.

The previous set of matches the women’s team played was against George Fox on Friday, March 23, in Orlando, Florida. According to George Fox’s box scores, the Blugolds won 6-3 in the combined doubles and singles matches.

The final scheduled match for the women’s tennis team are the WIAC Championships on Saturday, April 29, in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Having started their season in September, this is the last scheduled event for the women’s tennis team.

The men’s tennis team will continue their season at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, at UW-La Crosse. After this set of matches, the Blugolds only have one more regular set of matches before the NJAC and the NCAA tournaments begin.

John Foley, a fourth-year finance student, said the Blugolds have faced some big teams this season and that has helped challenge the team to learn and grow.

“The people portion is far more important than what we do,” Foley said. “It’s the way we go all the way to the wall and back for each other.”

Fisher can be reached at [email protected].