Written by Kelly Mahawanniarachchi// Photo by Jeff Montgomery
Harding’s men’s tennis started their season off strong with a victory over 23rd-ranked Drury 5-2 on Feb. 7 at the Cooper Tennis Center in Springfield, Missouri. They also achieved a 5-0 win over Southwest Baptist University on the same day.
Head coach David Redding said the wins are historic for the team.
“Our opening weekend in Springfield, Missouri, against perennial national powers Drury and Southwest Baptist University proved historic for our program,” Redding said. “To knock off both teams on their home courts, defeating Drury 5-2 and SBU 5-0, should increase our confidence as we move forward playing other nationally ranked opponents, but keep us hungry for improvement to reach our team goals.”
Sophomore Florian Gayme was pleased with the way he competed. He secured doubles wins at Drury and Southwest Baptist with his partner, Cian Mikkelsen.
Gayme said the win meant a lot to both him and the team. He also said he was pleased with the way the team has bonded over the past few months.
“The season started well for the boy’s team,” Gayme said. “We won our first two games. I was pleasantly surprised by the energy brought by the team, our new players integrated very well and it was immediately felt in these games.”
Sophomore Caleb Folse also performed well in both matches. While he won his doubles match at Southwest Baptist with his partner Edoardo D’Arrigo, his singles match went unfinished as the team clinched the match before Folse could complete his match. He finished the singles match with a 5-2 lead.
Folse said the two wins give the team motivation and are an indication of the hard work they have put in during practice. “We beat two really good teams on the road to start the season, and all the guys seem to be playing really well right now,” Folse said. “I think it gives the entire team some excitement and motivation going into the upcoming matches this weekend.”
