Spring Arbor, MI — It has become the hook in the song that is the 2007 Goshen College men’s tennis season:
Play solid tennis, win a few points here and there, and then come up just short of a team victory in Mid-Central Conference play.
Save for a 9-0 blasting of Grace College back on Sept. 11 (click here for related article) and Saturday’s 6-3 win over Huntington University (click here for article), that mantra has held true throughout the MCC season, and Tuesday’s latest tilt at Spring Arbor University was no exception. Despite playing what Goshen head coach Stan King called “great tennis” in spots, Goshen (2-6, 2-5) dropped a 6-3 decision to the host Cougars in the team’s final regular-season league contest.
“This match was typical of almost all our conference losses this season,” King said. “We played SAU close, with lots of great tennis, had good opportunities to win, but were unable to take points and games when we most needed to do so.”
The Leafs dropped ultra-close matches at number two singles and number two doubles in the loss, as freshman Sashi Sabanathan dropped a heartbreaking 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 decision at number two while sophomore Joel King and freshman Alex Dominguez fell by an 8-6 count in number two doubles’ play.
That loss was balanced by a tremendous, come-from-behind win at number one doubles, however, as Sabanathan and senior Beakal Girma teamed for a 9-7 win over Spring Arbor’s Matt Lantz and Jordan Hoy.
“Beakal and Sashi won a hard-fought, exciting match, coming back from a 6-7 deficit to win 9-7 from Spring Arbor’s ITA national tournament-bound team of Matt Lantz and Jordan Hoy,” Stan King said. “Our guys could have folded against Arbor’s experienced, senior duo, but they didn’t. Unfortunately, the reverse marked our number two doubles loss where we squandered some great opportunities to break serve and produce some distance during the course of an 8-6 loss.”
Goshen’s only other points on the day came from Joel King at number five singles — a 6-4, 6-3 win over SAU’s Matt DeRose — and freshman Chanuk Algama at number six singles — a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win over the Cougars’ Brendan Bloomfield.
“Joel King played some solid tennis on his way to a two-set win at number four singles, his fourth conference win, and at number six Chanuk Algama came back from a disappointing first-set tie-breaker loss to settle his game and raise his consistency to win two straight sets and gain his fourth conference win,” Stan King said.
Perhaps the most disappointing defeat of the day came at number two singles for the Leafs, as Dominguez dropped a 7-5, 6-1 decision to the Cougars’ Dave Cavender. Goshen’s 8-2 loss at number three doubles was also tainted, as the team was without senior Ashe Abebe due to a prior conflict.
“Chanuk Algama teamed with Sheldon Good at number three doubles, since Ashe Abebe wasn’t able to travel with the team due to a conflict,” Stan King said. “Alex Dominguez, who has been a sure winner for the Leafs this year at number three singles ever since the initial match of the season, was unable to come up with enough winners against the solid, aggressive play of Dave Cavender. Though we end our conference dual matches with a rather disappointing 2-5 record, I feel like we’ve been a stronger team this year than last, and, when we did go down as a team in defeat, we were certainly competitive at almost all positions.”
King’s squad will have another chance to tune up for next week’s MCC Tournament on Thursday, as the team will host Anderson University. Match time is set for 4 p.m.
Singles:
#1 Matt Lantz (SA) def Beakal Girma 6-4, 6-2
#2 Jordan Hoy (SA) def Sashi Sabanathan 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2
#3 Dave Cavender (SA) def Alex Domínguez 7-5, 6-1
#5 Joel King (G) def Matt DeRose 6-4, 6-3
#5 Wade Clark (SA) def Sheldon Good 6-1, 6-1
#6 Chanuk Algama (G) def Brendan Bloomfield 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3
Doubles:
#1 Girma/Sabanathan (G) def Lantz/Hoy 9-7
#2 DeRose/Cavender (SA) def Domínguez/King 8-6
#3 Clark/Miles (SA) def Good/Algama 8-2
|
  Sophomore Joel King
|
|
|
|
