Steve Nafziger | Echo
The Taylor men and women's tennis teams fell in a non-conference road match to the Northwestern Ohio Racers Tuesday afternoon. The men's team lost with a final score of 8-1, while the women tallied one more point than the men for a final of 7-2.
"We competed well against a very strong team," said men's head coach Don Taylor. "We played with good strategies but weren't able to finish key points."
The men's lone victory came from the No. 3 doubles team. Seniors Cameron Boehning and Brad Caldwell defeated their opponents 9-8. Boehning and Caldwell played well in the clutch to win the tiebreaker 7-5. With this victory, they improve to 5-2 in doubles matches together. Boehning also played No. 2 singles, keeping the first set close at 7-5, but lost in two sets.
The Racers swept the Trojans in singles matches, as freshman Chris Robbins was the only singles player to force his opponent into three sets before falling short 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.
On the women's side of the court, freshman Sarah Smith and senior Tara Gnagy gave the Trojans their two points. Smith wore her opponent down with good shot selection and patience, winning with a decisive score of 6-1, 6-1, while Gnagy handily beat her opponent 6-1, 6-2.
The Racers swept the Trojan doubles teams; however, senior Kim Henke and freshman Katherine Marquez kept their match close at No. 1 doubles, narrowly losing to their opponents 9-7.
Despite the defeat, head coach Jini Morgan was pleased with the way her women played.
"We knew going in that Northwestern Ohio was a tough team," Morgan said. "We are extremely happy with the competition level of TU women. There were respectable performances on every court."
Both the men and women have one match to play before the Crossroads League Tournament starts as they look to be named Crossroads League champions.
Photography by Timothy P. Riethmiller
