This past weekend, Saturday, April 10, both the Muhlenberg men’s and women’s tennis teams had their home opener against Dickinson College.
Coming into the weekend with a 1-1 record, and not too many matches left on their schedule, the men’s tennis team knew this was an important matchup. Led by Jason Grant ‘21, and Benedict Kohler ‘23, the team was able to prevail with a victory, beating Dickinson 7-2. Now sitting at a record of 2-1, the Mules have four matches remaining on the schedule, and all of them are tough matchups against fellow Centennial Conference foes. Kohler talked about the difficulty and pressure of playing conference opponents every weekend, saying, “For me, personally, it can be a bit challenging managing intense training during the week followed by a match along with schoolwork and other activities on campus. At the same time though, I think that we have done a good job at getting into the rhythm of it and it also ensures that we are continually ‘match fit,’” he said.
While Kohler acknowledges the challenge of managing schoolwork, training and matchups every week, he and the team have done a great job this season and they expect to continue to do so. He is excited about the team’s expectations for the rest of the season and their potential for success. “I think for these first few matches everyone has been so psyched up to play. [After] having missed out on last year’s season, everyone has been training intensely, and as a result walking onto the court feeling confident and ready to compete at their highest level. Therefore, going forward, I believe that we just need to continue training hard during the week so we are able to project positive energy when playing our following matches,” Kohler said.
Over the next four weeks, the men’s tennis team will square off against McDaniel College, Ursinus College, Washington College, and Johns Hopkins University. “As a team, I think, it would be great if we could win all of our remaining matches except for John Hopkins who consistently finishes at the top of Division-3 teams. We do hope to at least have a tight match up against them though. For me personally, I’m also hoping to win most of my remaining matches. My doubles partner, Jason, and I are still undefeated so it would be awesome to keep it this way the rest of the season,” Kohler explained.
As for the women’s team, they were unable to come away with a win this weekend, losing 8-1, consequently dropping their record to 0-3 on the season.
While it has been a tough start to the season for the women’s team, Rose Glantz ‘22 recognized how the coaching staff has been working to keep them motivated for every match. “Lauren [the assistant coach] reminds us of our abilities every practice, game and/or match. She encourages us to play our best on the court regardless of if we are practicing or playing at a match. She also has been helping us to become more aggressive at the net and in our match play whether that be in doubles or singles,” Glantz said.
Even with the slow start to the season, Glantz and her teammates expect to improve over the next few weeks, especially with demanding conference opponents every week. “I think our goals are to figure out which doubles teams work best and to keep the points going for all matches. We have also been working on being more aggressive at the net, especially with doubles. We expect to continue working hard and playing competitively to bring home a win. We have been working with our coach, Lauren Steinert, every day at practice and she has brought a whole new light to our team. I think that she has given us the confidence and encouragement that our small team truly needed,” she said,
Both of the Mules’ tennis teams’ next matchups are scheduled for this Saturday, April 17, at McDaniel College. Hopefully, the men can continue their success while the women look to come away with their first victory of 2021.
