Hilton Head, SC - Messiah College men's and women's tennis are in South Carolina this week, kicking off their spring season with five matches each in the southern sun.
Monday, Mar. 11
Messiah Men 4, Greenville College 5 -
Results
After losing all three doubles matches, the men (0-1) rallied with four wins in the singles before falling 5-4. The match came down to the No. 5 singles, with
David Wichert losing by a narrow 7-5, 7-6 decision.
Michael Brookhart,
Luke Hostetter,
Peter Shuck, and
Derrek Hoffer all earned singles wins.
Hostetter and Shuck showed impressive wins in their first showings of the spring season, giving up just 5 games between the two of them.
Michael Brookhart's match started out very close in the first set, but he finished the match out well to win 7-5, 6-3.
Derrek Hoffer played a similar match but both of his sets were close and well-played; he closed it out 6-4, 6-4.
"Overall, I like how we competed today," said Messiah head coach
Jon Arosell. "The loss was tough, but we fought back and I think this was a good start to our spring season."
Messiah Women 0, Univ. of Charleston 9 -
Results
The women (0-1) were shut out against the University of Charleston on Monday, with Charleston moving to 3-0 in their spring season.
Highlighting the singles matches on the women's side was
Eileen Barker, who won her first set 6-3 against Marieve Edwards. The second set was forced into a tiebreak, but Edwards pulled out the win with a 10-8 tiebreak victory. In the third set Barker went down and couldn't get back, losing 10-2.
"While the score indicated a one-sided match, I thought our girls handled themselves well against a formidable opponent," Arosell said, speaking of the Division II Eagles. "Our girls competed well and I think it will prepare them well for tough matches this spring."
The teams will return to action on Tuesday, with the men and women both opposing Juniata College at 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Mar. 12
Messiah Men 5, Juniata College 2 -
Results
The Messiah men took a 5-2 decision over Juniata on Tuesday, winning three of the four completed singles matches and two of the three doubles. Both
Peter Shuck and
Derrek Hoffer could not finish their singles contests due to darkness, but the match result was solidified already based on the other scores.
Michael Brookhart took his match into three sets to lead off the singles competition against the Eagles. The sophomore dropped the first set 6-4 but came back to take the second 7-5, and the third 10-3.
Luke Hostetter got his second singles win of the spring trip in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-2.
David Wichert also won by the same score in his singles match.
On the doubles' side, the pairs of Brookhart and Hostetter proved successful in an 8-5 victory. Wichert and
Zachary Brunner were also successful, winning their doubles match by the same score.
Messiah Women vs. Juniata College - Postponed
The women's match with Juniata was postponed due to darkness, with the teams hoping to complete the contests later this week.
Both of the teams will compete on Wednesday, Mar. 13 against Gettysburg College.
Wednesday, Mar. 13
Messiah Women 0, Gettysburg College 9 -
Results
The Messiah women drop to 0-2 on the season with a 9-0 loss to the Bullets of Gettysburg College. It is the second shutout that the team faces while on their spring break trip in Hilton Head, S.C.
Katelyn Clark had a chance to take a set in the No. 5 singles match which would have moved all the momentum to her side of the court. The first set of the match was sent into a tiebreak but Clark coulndn't convert the opportunity and lost it 8-6. She also dropped the second set, that one by a score of 6-2.
On the doubles side, the scores were 8-5, 8-4, and 8-3.
Messiah Men 4, Gettysburg College 5 -
Results
The Messiah men lose their second match of the South Carolina trip by just one point. This time to Gettysburg College 5-4, which drops the overall record for the men to 1-2 on the season.
Highlights for the men include another win from
Luke Hostetter, it took 3 sets but he got the job done.
Justin Meckley got his first win of the season, and he did it handily winning 6-1 and 6-2. A close match on the singles side that could have turned the tide for the Falcons was
Peter Shuck's. He took it to a third set in extra games but ultimately lost 16-14.
Also, the duo of
Justin Meckley and
Peter Shuck was successful in their doubles match with a score of 8-5.
Messiah Women 3, Juniata College 6 -
Results
The Messiah women have lost their third match of the trip in Hilton Head to Juniata College on Wednesday after the match was postponed from Tuesday. Their overall record is now 0-3 on the season.
The singles matches opened up with a great win for
Erin Ipsen. After losing the first set 6-0 she came back to take the second 7-5, then won the third 10-3. Another good win for the team came on the doubles side where
Erin Ipsen and
Eileen Barker took the match by a score of 8-6.
Ellen Harpold and
Molly Brubaker put up a good fight in their doubles match by forcing extra games in a 9-7 loss.
The teams return to action on Thursday. The men will play Gordon College and the Women face off against Spring Arbor University.
Thursday, Mar. 14
Messiah Men 6, Gordon College 3 -
Results
The Messiah men took on Gordon College on day four of their southern trip and defeated them 6-3. The Falcons won four of the six singles matches and in the process only dropped 6 games in the eight victorious sets.
David Wichert did not give up a single one in his dominatiing win. Derek Hoffer and
Peter Shuck only gave up one game apiece in their singles matches.
On the doubles side the team won two of the three matches with scores of 8-5 and 8-1. The pair of Zach Brunner and
David Wichert secured the 8-1 victory.
The win moves the men to a .500 record of 2-2 on the season.
Messiah Women 0, Spring Arbor University 9 -
Results
The Falcons have dropped their third scoreless game of the spring break trip, this one to Spring Arbor University. The loss sends the team to 0-4 on the spring season.
Molly Brubaker was the closest on the singles side to obtaining a win, but dropped both sets by a score of 6-4. Two of the doubles matches were also close, both of those matches ended with a score of 8-6.
The last matches of the South Carolina slate will be played tomorrow (3/15). Both of the teams will face Freedom Conference opponent FDU-Florham.
Friday, Mar. 15
Messiah Men 6, FDU-Florham 3
The Messiah Men have improved their overall record in the spring season to 3-2 with a 6-3 victory over the Devils of FDU-Florham. Key victories for the men in this match came from Mike Brookhart,
Peter Shuck, and
Derrek Hoffer, whose matches were all taken into three sets. The team overall performed well in the singles matches today, winning five of the six total.
Zach Brunner and
David Wichert got the only doubles win for the Falcons in this one. They won by a score of 8-6.
This match finishes off the spring break trip for the guys, ending on a high note. The team will not return to action until April 2, when they face their first conference opponent of the season at home against Hood College.
