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OCT.
6-8 — Goshen Season Concludes In MCC Tourney
Youthful
squad can't find win at any position in first day of post-season
event |
Fort Wayne, IN — After a regular season spent in rebuilding mode and
underclassmen comprising all but one roster slot, the Goshen College men’s
tennis team’s 2005 season came to an end Thursday in first-round action
of the Mid-Central Conference Tournament.
No Goshen player was able to advance past their initial match,
as no Leaf player faced lower than a four seed in first round play. Despite
the odds, Goshen got solid play up and down the lineup, pleasing head coach
Stan King while giving the program an optimistic view for the future.
“We went into this tournament knowing our opponents were heavily
favored at each position,” King said. “However, we wanted to
play the best tennis we could, regardless of the outcome, and
I believe we were able to do that in most matches.”
Goshen (2-6, 1-6) got solid play at both its number one and two
singles positions, as sophomore Mickey Girma and freshman Shyam Sabanathan
each pushed their matches to the limit before faltering. Girma, facing top-seeded
Kiko Cortez from Bethel College, appeared to have an upset in the making
after a 6-3 win in his first set. Cortez responded with a 6-1, 6-4 comeback,
however, thwarting Girma’s chance at the tournament’s biggest
potential upset.
“Mickey had a great match with Bethel’s Kiko Cortez, the number
one seed, taking the first set and coming from behind in the third, losing
6-4,
just short of a 5-5 tie. He had lost to Cortez 6-2, 6-3 earlier
in the season. It was a great effort today.”
Sabanathan duplicated Girma’s near-feat, taking Indiana Wesleyan University’s
Phil Jackson to three sets before falling by a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 score. Jackson,
the MCC’s number two seed at number two singles, dealt Sabanathan a
6-3, 6-1 loss on Sept. 6.
The remainder of Goshen’s singles lineup all suffered straight-set
losses on Thursday, though junior Tim Yoder (number four) and freshman Matt
Harms (number six) each pushed their respective opponents to tie-breakers
before falling.
“Tim Yoder probably played his best tennis of the season against
Marian College’s Jesse Miller, losing in two long sets, but a marked
improvement over an earlier loss to Miller,” King said. “Matt
Harms sustained a knee injury toward the end of his hard-fought,
7-5 first set loss, and didn’t have the mobility needed in the second
set. Matt’s
opponent was Phil Mayes of Spring Arbor University, who had played
a position higher in our earlier round robin meeting with Spring Arbor.”
In doubles play, Goshen could mount resistance only at the number
one slot, where Girma and Sabanathan dropped a tough 8-6 decision to Indiana
Wesleyan’s Luke Helm and Phil Jackson.
“We switched Shyam from number two doubles to team up with Mickey
at number one doubles, and moved (freshman) Sheldon (Good) from
number one to team up with Tim at number two doubles. Mickey and Shyam came
back from
a 2-5 deficit to tie the match at 6-6 (8-game pro-set), before
going down 8-6.”
Bethel won the team event, garnering 15 team points over the
three-day affair. Goshen’s lack of team points was just off a one-point
effort by Grace College, which finished seventh.
“We had a young, relatively inexperienced team this season, with
five newcomers (four freshmen and one sophomore) and two returnees,
Tim Yoder, a junior with one year of college experience, and Jason Yoder,
a sophomore
with very limited play last year at number six singles,” King said. “Though
we were able to win only two of our ten matches, I am encouraged
by our improvement as a team during the season. I feel like the guys showed
great effort in
almost all their matches, even when they were heavily outmatched.
Our wins over Grace and Earlham felt real good, and were matches we might
not have
won a year earlier.
“
I feel very positive about our prospects for next year,” King continued. “With
good retention of this year’s players, return of JD Windhorst (a junior
currently on China study service term abroad) to the team, and reasonably
good possibilities for recruitment, I believe we could be very competitive
in 2006. We have the foundation, including good chemistry, for building a
very good team. Some off-season work in the weight room and on the courts,
together with some match play in the spring, should help us meet this goal.”
Check back to this site for continual off-season information
and team news. To contact Coach King, call him at (574) 535-7498 or click
here to send him an email.
Final Results:
Bethel — 15
Marian — 14
Indiana Wesleyan — 14
Taylor — 12
Spring Arbor — 6
Huntington — 2
Grace — 1
Goshen — 0
Singles:
#1 Beakal Girma lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to the #1 seed, Bethel’s Kiko Cortez.
#2 Shyam Sabanathan lost 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to the #2 seed, Indiana
Wesleyan’s Phil Jackson.
#3 Sheldon Good lost 6-1, 6-3 to the #1 seed, Marian’s Clay Schneider.
#4 Tim Yoder lost 6-3, 7-6 (6) to the #3 seed, Marian’s Jesse Miller.
#5 Jason Yoder lost 6-1, 6-0 to the #2 seed, Bethel’s Josh Keifer.
#6 Matt Harms lost 7-5, 6-0 to the #4 seed, Phil Mayes.
Doubles:
#1 Beakal Girma/Shyam Sabanathan lost 8-6 to the #2 seed, Indiana
Wesleyan’s Luke Helm/Phil Jackson.
#2 Sheldon Good/Tim Yoder lost 8-2 to the #3 seed, Taylor’s Kyle/Brown/Scott
Schmeissing.
#3 Jason Yoder/Matt Harms lost 8-1 to the #1 seed, Marian’s Clint Brand/Alex
Bienz.
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  Sophomore
Mickey Girma
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