DJ Lindquist | Echo
The Taylor men's tennis team earned its first win of the season on Tuesday with a 6-3 victory over Spring Arbor.
Senior Carlos Guarin and sophomores Juan Ramirez and Chris Robbins led The Trojan win through singles play. Robbins finished first at the No. 3 singles spot and defeated his opponent 6-3 in the first set, followed by a 6-0 rout in the second set.
Ramirez won his match 6-4 off of a break advantage in the final set at the No. 2 singles position. Guarin came back from a 5-4 loss in the second set and grabbed a 6-3 win to close out Spring Arbor No. 1 singles player Michael Darling.
Although the team is half freshmen, head coach Don Taylor says he is pleased with the hard work of his young players and their desire to improve from match to match. With a couple of key matches coming up, the Trojans are wasting no time. They are working hard to develop not only their skills and conditioning but also strategies for upcoming matches.
"We are experiencing some growing pains due to the youth of our team and know that every match will be a challenge," Taylor said.
Considering all these areas of improvement, the overall message to the team is to stay positive, work hard and learn from mistakes. Taylor is pleased with the team's overall attitude and resilience during these last few matches but hopes for some consistency for both singles and doubles.
"We teach our players that in order to be successful you must go into every match with a plan, because every opponent plays a different style," Taylor said.
The team is now 1-4 overall with a 1-2 record in Crossroads League play after Thursday's loss to Grace.
The Trojans will have a two-game away stretch before traveling to Grand Rapids for the ITA Regionals. Taylor will return to the home court to take on Indiana Wesleyan on Sept. 20 at 4 p.m.
