Ever wonder which would win in a fight: a Billiken or a Horned Frog?
If the weekend tennis meeting between Saint Louis and TCU was any indication, hopefully the Billikens know a good doctor.
The Billikens men’s team dropped their match to the 34th ranked Horned Frogs 6-1, while the women were swept 7-0 by the 29th-ranked equivalent.
For the men, it was Ikaika Jobe who earned the lone victory. The Bills top-rated singles player won his match against TCU’s Alex Menichini 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Earlier this fall the Billikens played Western Illinois and took the match 4-3. The remainder of fall competition was in tournament play with the Billikens winning 32 of the 63 individual singles matches and 19 of the 34 doubles matches.
The Billiken men dropped to 1-2 in the spring and do not begin home matches until Feb 9, when conference rival Memphis comes to town.
On the women’s side, the most focused of efforts could not produce the results that the Billikens hoped for. The Bills lost every match to the Frogs, who were looking to move up the national rankings.
Sophomore Amy O’Handley said, “The matches went well, we all had close matches that could have gone either way. The two doubles matches went to 9-7, and we all played tough even though the 0-7 record doesn’t show that.
“I feel good about our team this year. Last year, we had a building year, but this year we are very solid, one through six. Our top six players are very even and as long as we all stay healthy, we should have a very good year.
“This year, we have a very all-around team. We are very evenly spread out with talent, and that is good because it is spread out in many different ways,” O’Handley said.
Earlier this year, the Billikens won their lone fall dual match 7-0, against Western Illinois. The remainder of Fall 2002 competition was participating in tournament play.
Friday, the men’s team will travel to Illinois State University before returning home for matches the next day. The Billikens return to St. Louis to host Indiana State, Arkansas State and Northern Iowa February 6, 7 and 9.
The Billikens will host their dual meets in their indoor facility at the Sunset Tennis Center located at 10911 Gravois Industrial Court in Sunset Hills, Mo.
