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SEPT.
16 — Fatigued Squad No Match For Wesleyan
Leafs
third match in as many days takes its toll; Goshen falls
by 1-8 score |
Goshen, IN — Competing in its third match in three days, the Goshen
College men’s tennis team simply did not have enough gas in the tank
against Mid-Central Conference power Indiana Wesleyan University Saturday
morning, dropping an 8-1 decision to the visiting Wildcats. After starting
the season with three straight wins, Goshen (3-2, 0-2) has now suffered a
pair of lopsided losses to the league’s top squads. A two-day break
is all the Leafs will get before returning to MCC play Tuesday afternoon.
“Wesleyan is the strongest team we’ve played this season,” said
Stan King, Goshen head coach. “We were a bit tired today given our
recent schedule, but we fought very hard at several positions.
Playing Indiana Wesleyan this early in the season should help us down the
road in conference
play.”
King received his lone point from freshman Joel King (no relation),
who defeated the Wildcats’ Luke Wright 7-5, 1-6, 10-1 (super set) in
an honorable performance. King, who boasts an official 3-1 singles record
on the season, would in all likelihood be 4-1 as Goshen’s number three
singles player had his season-opening match not been halted by rain (click
here for article).
“Joel King had a nice win at number three singles showing great
determination and focus to come back after losing the second
set by a 1-6 score to convincingly take the super tie-breaker third set 10-1,” Stan
King said. “He has been playing good tennis as of late.”
Goshen was swept in straight sets in the remainder of singles
play, as again injury and illness came into play. Sophomore ace Shyam Sabanathan
elected to sit out the match due to a nagging upper arm injury, while senior
Tim Yoder’s recent battle with a chest cold left him listless in a
6-1, 6-2 loss at number six singles.
“(Senior) JD Windhorst had a good match in a losing cause at number
five singles, extending his second set to a tie-breaker, and
(freshman) Aaron Sutter played some great tennis at number two singles while
losing to veteran
Chad Hathaway,” Stan King said.”The 6-1, 6-2 scores do not reflect
how well contested his match was. (Junior) Beakal Girma at number
one singles and (sophomore) Sheldon Good at number four singles were probably
up against
the best in the conference at these positions. Tim Yoder played
hard at number six, but his energy level was severely drained by a cold he’s
been nursing the past few days. Shyam Sabanathan took warm up practice, but
decided
not to compete in this match due his upper arm injury.”
The Leafs did put up strong competition in two of the three doubles’ matches
on the day, putting an exciting spin to the outset of the match. Sutter and
King combined to drop an 8-6 decision in number two play, while Windhorst
and Yoder suffered a narrow 8-5 defeat in the number three position.
“We played well in those doubles positions, as both teams held
one-game leads for much of the time in both matches,” Stan King said. “Unfortunately,
we couldn’t quite hold on at the end of each contest.”
Goshen will finally end its consecutive-day playing schedule,
taking two days off before heading to Indianapolis to face MCC foe Marian
College on Tuesday. Match time is set for 2 p.m.
Singles:
#1 Luke Helm (W) def Beakal Girma 6-2, 6-0
#2 Chad Hathaway (W) def Aaron Sutter 6-1, 6-2
#3 Joel King (G) def Luke Wright 7-5, 1-6, 10-1 (super set)
#4 Ben Bishoff (W) def Sheldon Good 6-0, 6-0
#5 Carson Vandenbossche (W) def J D Windhorst 6-3, 7-6 (1)
#6 Jared Ringenburg (W) def Tim Yoder 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
#1 Luke Helm/Ben Bishoff (W) def Beakal Girma/Sheldon Good 8-1
#2 Chad Hathaway/Luke Wright (W) def Aaron Sutter/Joel King 8-6
#3 Carson Vandenbossche/Jared Ringenbury def JD Windhorst/Tim
Yoder 8-5
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  Freshman
Joel King
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