Men's Tennis Battles Tough In Loss To Air Force
GREELEY, Colo. - In the second match of the year, the Northern Colorado men's tennis team battled valiantly, but fell short against the Air Force Academy, 7-0 on Saturday at Work Out West.
"The guys competed extremely hard today," said Head Coach Tim Bearman. "Unfortunately, the results weren't there. We are improving weekly, and we need to continue to improve throughout the year. The team had an opportunity to grab that doubles point right off the bat, but we came up a little short. There are some positives to take out of the match, the effort was there, the attitude was positive and we are starting to play more intelligent tennis."
Andre Lepine and Connor Buchanan won the number three doubles, 9-7, giving the Bears a chance for the doubles point but the Falcons won at both one and two on the ladder for the first point.
Calix Van Lier and Ryan Lane both battled three sets at one and two singles, respectively with Van Lier winning the second set and Lane the first. Van Lier dropped the first in a tightly contested 7-5 set, then won 7-5 in the second before losing the third set 6-3. Lane won the first set 6-3 but fell 6-2 in both the second and third.
At number four singles, Travis Day was broken late in the first set to fall 7-5 then lost 6-3 in the deciding set.
The Bears return to the court on Valentine's Day, hosting Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference opener for the team at 9:00 a.m. at Work Out West.
Air Force 7, Northern Colorado 0
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
Greeley, Colo.
Singles
1. Lance Wilhelm (AF) def. Calix Van Lier, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
2. Austin Francis (AF) def. Ryan Lane, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Taylor Soster (AF) def. Robbie Edwards, 6-2, 6-2
4. Brett Rodgers (AF) def. Travis Day, 7-5, 6-3
5. Alex Beaussart (AF) def. Andre Lepine, 6-1, 6-1
6. Stephen Katrien (AF) def. Connor Buchanan, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. Rodgers / Soster (AF) def. Van Lier / Day, 8-3
2. Francis / Wilhelm (AF) def. Edwards / Lane, 8-6
3. Lepine / Buchanan (UNC) def. Katrein / Vinni Lodolo, 9-7