Tennis Finding Their Way Early
Saint Louis University Athletics
Sophomore Cassie McKenzie awaits the serve. McKenzie posted wins in all of her conference matches last week.
This past weekend marked a grueling time for both the men’s and women’s tennis teams, as each competed in three matches over the weekend along the East Coast. The weekend capped off a strong February for the Billikens, as both the men’s and women’s teams scored a combined eleven-total match wins throughout the month.
The men’s team traveled to Virginia to compete in back-to-back matches on Thursday and Friday against Richmond and VCU, respectively. Both marked disappointing days for the men as the Bills lost 5-2 against Richmond and 4-0 to VCU. However, the team is now on the upswing following Saturday’s match against Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia where the Billikens easily defeated their Jesuit brothers to the East 6-1, with especially dominating performances coming from the Nogalski brothers in the doubles matches defeating Tan and Fick of SJU 6-1.
The women had a rollercoaster of a week, with two wins sandwiching a loss against Fordham on Friday in New York. The two wins, however, seemed to come naturally to the women as they steamrolled over Rhode Island 6-1 on Feb. 28 and Saint Joseph’s 5-2 on March 3.
Sophomore Cassie McKenzie was the only player to record all wins in each of her three matches last week. “[The team] has been looking forward to this trip since the beginning of the year, so, every time we went out on the court our mindset was, ‘we are in a beautiful place with our best friends, doing what we love, so let’s make the most of it on and off the court’” said McKenzie.
Overall, both men’s and women’s teams are looking to improve as the season progresses, and are seeking the Atlantic-10 Conference championship in April.
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philippe • Mar 12, 2018 at 3:34 pm
Bob, I think that the Blues are DONEkirk. They packed it in, especially last night when it was a team that they are trying to catch. Lack of effort. The goalies have to make a save every once in a while even on a bad play by the defense. Did the Cardinals get any better? Don”t know and don”t think so. We once again have to rely on the youngsters to step up. How many times can this happen? In regards to the Billikens, Coach Ford needs to look at the type of player that he is recruiting. A high school player that is playing for his second high school (didn”t get along with the coach) and has been suspended at least twice already this season? Is this the type of scholar-athlete that SLU wants? Don”t even bring up the Title IX investigations. BTW, been going to Billiken games for years now, never been carded. Go Dragons. KEG diploma online