|
|
OCT.
6-8 — Leafs Can't Pull Off MCC Tournament Miracle
Team
finishes fifth at event; misses post-season for
first time in five years |
Fort Wayne, IN — Going into
this weekend’s Mid-Central Conference Tournament, Goshen
head coach Sarah Yoder knew it would take a monster effort to claim
the program’s fifth consecutive bid to NAIA post-season play.
After a draw that had the cards stacked against the Leafs prior
to any match taking place, Yoder’s squad could not come through
with the surprise.
Goshen (4-6, 3-5) battled hard but settled for a fifth-place finish
at the three-day tournament, winning a pair of matches at singles
and a single match at doubles before concluding its season Friday
afternoon. Sophomore Diana Diaz and junior Hannah Gingerich combined
for all of Goshen’s points across the board, as the rest
of the field put up strong fights but could not collect a match
win at any of the positions.
The result marked the end to the greatest four years in Goshen’s
tennis history, as the Leafs’ four consecutive post-season
qualifications remain as the only seasons in which a Goshen team
has accomplished the feat.
“The outcome of tournament was not what we had been hoping
for,” Yoder
said Friday afternoon. “Prior to receiving the draw we were
confident that if we were lucky enough to be given some breaks
in the draw we would be able to make some upsets. I received the
draw on the Monday before tournament and three of our four unseeded
players drew the number one seed at their positions. Two of our
seeded positions received tough draws as well. We left the tournament
knowing that for the first time in five years we did not qualify
for regional competition in the spring. While we had wished for
a better showing at tournament, we also acknowledged the youthfulness
of our team and the depth of our ever-competitive conference.”
That depth was evident long before making the trip to Fort Wayne,
as junior Katie Martin — despite a solid season at number
four singles — failed to qualify for the MCC Tournament as
the league’s ninth seed. The remainder of the Leafs’ singles
corps (aside from Diaz and Gingerich) suffered first-round losses,
the most heartbreaking of which came at the number six slot: After
putting a 6-2 win on Taylor University’s Kelly King in the
first game, junior Anita Hooley dropped a tear-jerking 6-4, 7-6
(7-5) decision.
“Anita’s three-set, third-set tie-breaker was by far
the biggest disappointment of the day,” Yoder said. “Anita
started out very strong and quickly won her first set. She was
in her element
against a player who hit with quite a bit of pace. In the second
set Kelly King adjusted her playing style and removed a lot of
her pace. It was a windy morning and this change in strategy caused
Anita to lose her rhythm. The third set Anita continued to struggle
and found herself down 1-4. She battled back to take the lead 5-4,
but was not able to string together enough points for that last
game. King tied the score at 5-5 and then took the lead 6-5 before
Anita battled back to force a tie-breaker. The score went back
and forth until King finally took the breaker at 7-5.”
Freshman Janie Beck suffered nearly as disappointing of a loss
at number five singles, dropping a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Indiana
Wesleyan University’s Kristi Haddad. Haddad — the number
one seed at the position — was able to thwart late rallies
by Beck to escape with the win.
“Janie Beck was able to give the number one seed a run for
her money,” Yoder
said. “Janie’s quickness and persistence gave the IWU
player some frustrations. Janie was able to chase down and return
balls that against another player would have probably been winners,
forcing her opponent to hit additional shots, and often leading
to mistakes. Janie should be very proud of her 6-4, 6-4 score against
the player who ended up winning that flight.”
After Diaz and Gingerich were able to cruise in their respective
singles matches, the duo teamed up to wallop Grace College’s
number one doubles tandem by a 6-2, 6-2 score. Those wins meant
that Diaz and Gingerich would be the only Goshen players returning
for second-day action at the tournament Friday.
“Diana’s first round match was against a player she
had narrowly beaten in three sets the weekend before and Hannah
actually drew
a play who beat her during the first match of the regular season.
We knew heading to tournament that none of our points would come
easily. Our first day of tournament went pretty much as well as
was expected. Diana was able to beat Katie Clark (Taylor), who
had given her a good push just a week earlier, in two sets. Hannah
was also able to avenge the loss she suffered at the beginning
of the season against Anna Metz from Grace, in two solid sets.
Diana and Hannah teamed up later in the day to win their first
round doubles match against Grace. They clearly dominated in their
6-2, 6-2 win.”
With Diaz and Gingerich looking to advance to the finals Friday,
both came up short. Diaz dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision to Huntington
University second seed Stephanie Strong, while Wesleyan’s
Erin Neunschwander knocked off Gingerich by a 6-1, 6-1 count at
number two singles. The pair’s toughest loss came at the
number one doubles slot, where Diaz and Gingerich lost a tough
7-5, 7-6 (8-6) decision to Taylor’s Katie Clark and Kelly
Pence.
“The closest match of the day was at number one doubles,
also against the number one seed, Taylor. Diana and Hannah took
a quick lead
in the first set 4-1, but Taylor sharpened up their game and went
on to take six of the next seven games. The second set was closer
throughout the entire match, with each team taking turns holding
their serve. Diana and Hannah had several set points, both at 5-4
in the second set and at 6-4 in the tie-breaker, but just couldn’t
close out against a tough Taylor team.”
Indiana Wesleyan won the team event, finishing with 24 team points.
Taylor finished second with 11 points. Bethel, with eight points,
finished fourth, rounding off the NAIA post-season qualifiers.
Goshen’s three points landed the team in fifth place.
“With nothing left to do but look forward, I am already excited
about our prospects for next year,” Yoder said. “With
no seniors on the team we have the potential to return a full team
of players who will be one year older and wiser from their year
of varsity tennis. Several players from across the country have
already expressed interest in playing on the Goshen College team
and I see nowhere for this team to go but up.”
Check back to this website for continual off-season news, including
recruiting information and team events. To contact Sarah Yoder,
call her at (574) 535-7743 or click here to send her an email.
Final Results:
Indiana Wesleyan — 24
Taylor — 11
Marian — 9
Bethel — 8
Goshen — 3
Huntington — 3
St. Francis — 3
Spring Arbor — 1
Grace — 1
Singles:
#1 first round: Diana Diaz (#3 seed) def. Katie Clark (Taylor)
6-3, 6-3
second round: Stephanie Strong (#2 seed, Huntington) def. Diaz
6-3, 6-3
#2 first round: Hannah Gingerich (#4 seed) def. Anna Metz (Grace)
6-2, 6-4
second round: Erin Neunschwander (#1 seed, IWU) def. Gingerich
6-1, 6-1
#3 first round: Julia Hedgebeth (#1 seed, IWU) def. Liz Goering
6-0, 6-0
#4 Katie Martin did not qualify to play in the tournament because
she was the #9 seed.
#5 first round: Kristi Haddad (#1 seed, IWU) def. Janie Beck 6-4,
6-4
#6 first round: Kelly King (Taylor) def. Anita Hooley (4th seed)
2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles:
#1 first round: Diaz/Gingerich (#4 seed) def. Anna Metz/Sarah Peters
(Grace) 6-2, 6-2
second round: Katie Clark/Kelly Pence (Taylor, #1 seed) def. Gingerich/Diaz
7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
#2 first round: Davis/Davis (Taylor, #3 seed) def. Goering/Martin
6-2, 6-1
#3 first round: Hedgebeth/Helm (IWU, #1 seed) def. Hooley/Weybright
6-3, 6-0
|
  Sophomore
Diana Diaz
|
|
|
|
|
|
