This week in St. Louis, Mo., the men’s and women’s tennis teams lost their first matches of the season to University of Missouri at St. Louis, with the men finishing 5-2 and the women finishing 5-4.

Tuesday, the women’s team defeated Lindenwood University 6-0. The men’s team lost 2-5. The men’s team is ranked No. 4 in the ITA Central Region with a 4-2 record overall. The women’s team is ranked No. 9 with a 5-3 record.

Marco Ruiz, head coach of both teams, said he is pleased with the Bisons’ overall performance so far this season.

“We have definitely seen some early success this season by doing well in the ITA tournament and getting wins in our early matches of the season,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz said the toughest upcoming matches for the women would be against Southwest Baptist University, Drury University and Arkansas Tech and Drury, Northwest Missouri and Ouachita Baptist for the men. In order to prepare for these difficult matches, the teams practice for two and a half to three hours each day, along with morning conditioning sessions.

“We have been doing a lot of conditioning and work on our footwork; that is really important for tennis,” Ruiz said. “We also focus on drills to simulate match play combined with doubles strategy drills.”

Sophomore Ali Rowden said the team’s goal is to prove itself as a contender this season.

“The biggest challenge we will face is proving that we are here to compete and showing people we are good,” Rowden said. “Harding’s women’s tennis hasn’t been great the past few years, but this year we have the talent, and we have the fight. We just need the strength to overcome the mental side of the game.”

Rowden also said the team has a special familial bond that exists both on and off the court.

“Our tennis team is a family – girls and boys,” Rowden said. “We can joke, we can fight, but when it comes down to it, I would jump in front of a bullet for each one of them. We train together, hurt together and play together. That is a bond some people may never experience and it brings us closer and closer.”

Senior Alex Ford also said relationships within the teams are strong.

“I believe this year’s team is one of the closest teams we have ever had since I have been here,” Ford said. “We all respect each other and cheer each other on no matter what the circumstances are.”

Ruiz said both teams display plenty of work ethic along with their camaraderie.

“They feed off each others energy and help each other out every day,” Ruiz said. “This is definitely one of the hardest working tennis teams Harding has ever had.”

Ruiz said the teams’ goals moving forward are “to win (their) upcoming conference matches and qualify for the ITA Regional Championships.”