This weekend’s men’s tennis competition resulted with a hit and miss in a 9-0 win over Milwaukee School of Engineering Friday night and a 8-1 loss against Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday at the Swanson Tennis Center at St. Peter (Minn.).

Assistant Coach Chris Kuna said MSOE and Gustavus had two very different levels of ability on the court. He said the Blugolds were in favor to win against MSOE, but the Gusties were another story.
“Gustavus is probably the most difficult match we will have all year, they are a very highly ranked team,” Kuna said.

He said although the team lost, there were a few highlights during the Saturday competition, especially during the third
doubles match.

Senior Florent Marco and freshman Kyle Hoffman, who returned after spraining his ankle a few weeks ago, won their doubles match against the Gusties by a score of 8-5. Marco said Hoffman could barely walk and when he finally came back he played really well.

“He is a freshman and he fought really hard and had a really good attitude and it paid off in the doubles game,” he said of Hoffman.

Head Coach Tom Gillman agreed the doubles match was a big moment, but some situations in singles matches need to be improved.
“It is important that we learn from those matches (against tough teams) so that we can approach the tough matches in the best possible way,” Gillman said.

Another highlight of the competition against the Gusties was when junior Ryan Vande Linde played nationally-ranked Gustie Amrik Donkena.

Donkena won the first set 6-2 and Linde fought back, winning the second set 6-3. But the match resulted with a Gustie win when Donkena beat Vande Linde in the final set 10-3.

Marco said the team is continuing to improve every weekend. Kuna agreed and said one of the biggest things the team needs to do to succeed is be more comfortable with their positions and have confidence.

“The most important thing is that everyone needs to really believe they can play the positions that they are playing and they can succeed there,” Kuna said.

In addition to confidence, Gillman said practice this week will consist of working on a few things the team could learn from the Gustavus competition.

“If we can be more consistent in the way we move and make good decisions a higher percentage of the time, I think that’s going to help us a lot,” Gillman said.

Gillman said he hopes the team can keep improving their skills as the season moves on. He said he wants to see the team progress and become consistent in areas of play they are not as strong.

With a record of 3-3, the Blugolds will next compete at 7 p.m. on Feb. 22 at the Western Racquet Club in Green Bay against St. Norbert.