After three tough opening season losses, the SJU Tennis team looked to get their first win of the season against St. Scholastica on Sunday. The Johnnies came out victorious, winning 6-3.
The Johnnies opened their weekend play last Saturday night losing 8-1 to Gustavus in Sartell, Minn. Senior Ian Hansen was SJU’s lone win.
The Johnnies non-conference schedule has been challenging. Their first two losses came against Division I and Division II opponents in South Dakota State and St. Cloud State, respectively.
The Johnnies returned all but one player from last year’s team and they expect to surprise other teams in the MIAC.
“Our goal is to make it back into the conference playoffs. Last year, we did not make it which was kind of a downer,” Junior Zach Shriwise said. “But this year we only lost one senior so we are looking to come back strong.”
The Johnnies struggled in MIAC play last season with a record of 2-7, but went 6-2 in non-conference play. However, with key returners in Senior Ian Hansen, Junior Fabricio Moncada and the key addition of first-year Anh Doan, they are looking to improve upon that mark, making this weekend a good place to start.
“Gustavus is always a good team, so we did not really know what to expect, but they definitely prepared us for our match against Scholastica,” Junior Trent Fade said. “Coach (Bowe) changed the lineup around a little bit for the Scholastica match and it ended up as a ‘W’ for us.”
The road does not get any easier for the Johnnies. As they open conference play against the St. Thomas on Saturday, head coach Jack Bowe keeps his players focused on their match.
“We got destroyed on Saturday, but (Hansen) has been playing phenomenal, so it is tough not to get excited about that,” Bowe said. “After Fabricio went down with an ankle injury, we had Ian step in at number one singles and he just keeps on winning.”
Hansen was awarded the first-ever MIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete of the week. Hansen has posted an impressive 4-0 start to the season including two wins at the No. 1 singles spot.
Although Bowe is happy to see improved play, the attitude is to keep improving.
“In terms of improvement, it comes down to our doubles play,” Bowe said. “We need to improve on our doubles play. Injuries too, if we want to be successful I need to keep my guys healthy.”
After a busy weekend of tennis, coach Bowe followed his own advice and let his players have Monday practice off.
The Johnnies return to the court Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1:00 p.m. in Minneapolis against St. Thomas. The Johnnies hope to improve to 2-3 overall and start 1-0 in conference play.