The Biola Eagles’ men’s and women’s tennis teams had a strong showing this past week, winning three of the four collective matches they played in. The women’s team suffered the only loss, a 9-0 shutout against the NCAA Division I UC Riverside Highlanders, but rebounded by winning 8-1 over the Hope International Royals. The men’s team played solidly, earning the 9-0 victory over the Occidental Tigers, then the 7-2 win over Hope International. The women’s record moves to 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference play, while the men improve to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in GSAC.
THE WOMEN
The women knew it would be a challenge facing UC Riverside in an out-of-conference match, but they performed admirably against the talented Highlander squad. The Eagles’ top two doubles teams each took two games off their respective opponents, while their third team was served up a bagel by UC Riverside. In singles play, sophomore Brooke Sanford was the only player to take two games off her opponent in both sets, but senior Susan Carmichael and junior Kelsey Post each won two games in their first sets. Biola did not expect to win the match, but they took it as a learning experience, which they then applied in the next match against Hope International.
The Eagles were on a three-match win streak against the Royals, stretching back to 2014, which they extended to four, nearly getting the sweep against Hope. It was not easy, with two of the three doubles matches being decided by the minimum of two games. Biola’s third doubles team needed a ninth set to ensure their victory. In singles play, two of the matches were decided in extra points, with Sanford requiring a seven point tiebreak to determine the second set. Junior Madeline Heer won her first set 6-3, lost the second 2-6, then pulled out a gritty 10-7 victory in the 10 point tiebreak. Senior Kathryn Ashford, Post, and freshman Taliah Hightower won each of their matches in straight sets, while freshman Katie Boesl was the only Eagle to drop a match on the day.
THE MEN
The men had a much smoother week, starting out with the shutout of Occidental. In doubles play, only the Tigers’ top team put up much of a fight, as their third team won their match 8-1, the second team won theirs 8-0, and their first team walked away with the 8-5 victory. In singles play, all but one of the players swept their opponent in two sets, with sophomore David Garcia winning both his sets 6-0. Sophomore Joe Turnquist was the only Eagle who required a tiebreaker third set, which he won 10-5.
Biola started out with an advantage over Hope International, as the Royals had five players, and thus were forced to forfeit one doubles match and one singles match. In doubles play, Biola’s No. 1 team lost 8-5 but their No. 2 team was able to pull out the tense 8-6 win. The Eagles put on a solid performance in singles, winning four of the five matches, two of which needed to be decided in a third set. Sophomore Lucas Lee dropped the first set, won the second 7-5, then won the third set decisively 6-3. Junior Luke Mountain won his first 6-3, dropped the second 2-6, and would not be denied the third set, winning it 6-2.
OUT-OF-CONFERENCE MATCH
Both teams move on to play another out-of-conference match in the form of Holy Names University on Friday, Feb. 19, starting at noon at Biola Tennis Center.
