The men’s and women’s tennis teams are approaching their conference schedules after playing mainly non-conference games for most of February and March.
After a hot start to the year, the Lady Bisons have hit a rough patch as of late, dropping three of their last four matches heading into Great American Conference (GAC) play. Despite the recent struggles, team morale is high and sophomore Arielle Butler said that believing in themselves is key for the rest of the year.
“We’re really excited to try and make some noise in the GAC this year,” Butler said. “We just need to keep improving our confidence level, especially in doubles. Singles play and our number one doubles team (sophomore Piper Huey and junior Ali Bishop) are really carrying us right now.”
Huey and Bishop have been rock-solid for the Lady Bisons so far this year. Harding’s top two players have a combined record of 12-4 this season at No. 1 and 2 singles and a 10-4 record together at No. 1 doubles, helping to keep the Lady Bisons alive in most matches.
The men’s team, currently ranked 45th in the nation for DII, shared the Lady Bisons early-season success, but then also fell into a slump in February which saw them lose three straight at one point. They have rebounded nicely, however, winning three of their last four, including a hard fought, come-from-behind 5-4 victory over 36th-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis last Friday; the team’s first win over a nationally ranked team this year.
Sophomore Josh Hurt said that the team’s drive to win helped fuel their comeback but that they know getting off to better starts will be key as the season wears on.
“One of our biggest strengths is our competitiveness,” Hurt said. “No matter who we play, they’re going to get our best efforts. The biggest thing we have to do from here on is start strong in matches. We’ve had to come from behind to win a few times so we know that if we can play well from the beginning we’ll be in good shape.”
The Bisons next match is at 1 p.m. tomorrow in Fort Smith, Ark. against Oklahoma Baptist University. The Lady Bisons also play on the road tomorrow against Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla. at 9 a.m. Results from the Lady Bisons Wednesday night matches were unavailable as of press time.
