Steve Nafziger | Echo
Taylor tennis opened Crossroads League tournament play Tuesday against the Huntington Foresters. The women hosted the Foresters and moved on to the second round by winning 7-2, but the men could not upset their second-ranked opponent as their season ended in Huntington with a 7-2 defeat.
"I was proud of the way the guys finished," said head coach Don Taylor. "We matched up well with them in three spots, and came away with victories in two of those."
Taylor's two men's victories came from the No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles. Sophomore Carter Perry played well in the No. 5 singles spot as he defeated his opponent 6-2 6-1. Seniors Cameron Boehning and Brad Caldwell finished their season strong, winning their last five matches together, including the 8-6 victory on Tuesday.
"We didn't have Cameron and Brad together at the beginning of the year," Coach Taylor said, "but we finally got them together and they had a very good season."
Freshman Chris Robbins played a tight match at No. 6 singles losing 6-3, 7-5 as he made vast improvements throughout the year.
The men finished their season 3-10, with two wins coming from conference play.
The women's season will continue after their dominant defeat of Huntington. The women took the lead quickly as they swept the doubles matches and were able to take four of six singles matches. Each matchup Taylor won came in straight sets as the only losses for the Trojans went into three sets.
Freshman Sarah Smith dominated the competition as she won her first set 6-1 and her opponent was forced to retire the from the match. Freshman Katherine Marquez defeated her opponent in tightly contested straight sets in No. 2 singles.
Huntington played well in the higher spots of the lineup, as the Foresters were able to take two of the top three singles matches. Both of the matches went into a tiebreak.
The women continue their tournament run by traveling to Marian to take on the second ranked Knights in the semi finals.
The women continued their tournament run by traveling to Marian Thursday to take on the second-ranked Knights in the semi-finals where their tournament journey ended in a 7-2 defeat.
Marian, ranked 21st in the NAIA, swept the doubles matches and claimed four of the six singles matches. Marquez and Smith tallied the two Trojan points.
Taylor finished their winning season 10-4, while the Knights await the winner of Indiana Wesleyan and Spring Arbor to see who they will face in the finals.
Photography by Timothy P. Riethmiller
