Tennis teams compete in San Diego over spring break
The men’s and women’s tennis teams each had two competitions over spring break in San Diego on Monday, March 10th and Wednesday, March 12th. On the afternoon of Monday, March 10, the men’s team defeated San Diego City College in a 7–0 beatdown.
The men played well, winning all five of their singles matches, one of which came from sophomore Jose Velasco in a comeback after losing the first set of the match. To top off the first day, the Vikings captured two big doubles wins from pairs senior Henry Dornbusch with graduate student Conrad Koch and sophomore Thomas Kano with sophomore Sebastian Garcia.
Although the Vikings won their singles matches, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
“The first game against San Diego City College, I needed to stay very disciplined because I was thought to be the favorite in the match,” Dornbusch said. “My opponent really performed very well; however, I was able to take care of business there and got it done.”
The men lost 6–1 later in the week to Point Loma, with their only singles win coming from Dornbusch. However, Dornbusch dominated in this match, swiftly winning in two sets.
The women’s team didn’t find as much success. On Monday, they took a 4–3 loss to George Washington University followed by a 4–2 loss to Point Loma on Wednesday. However, freshman Martina Sfilio gave a strong performance in her singles match on Monday, which she won in three sets.
Despite losing the matches, the women fought hard by winning all three of their doubles matches against George Washington University and just falling short in a couple of other matches on both days.
A notable highlight of the week was when senior Mia Garcia was named NSIC player of the week. Garcia went 2–0 in singles play and 2–0 in doubles play with her partner sophomore Simone Karaouza.
“I felt really good about my performance,” Garcia said. “I focused on staying aggressive and adapting to the outdoor conditions, which helped me stay consistent throughout the matches.”
Although not all of the matches went the way they wanted, the players still had a great time in sunny California. The players went shopping in Los Angeles, visited sea lions at La Jolla Cove and even watched professional tennis matches at the Indian Wells Open.
“That was exciting for the team to see the best players in the world play at a beautiful setting in the desert,” head coach Marc Kurtz said.
With their spring trip over, both the men’s and women’s teams now have their eyes set on the rest of the season.
The men look towards their last regular season conference match against Emporia State on April 13, which will decide whether they make the conference tournament. The women are just starting with their conference play, taking on the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State this upcoming weekend on March 22–23.
