BY ANDREW HALE, SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure men’s and women’s tennis teams are back in action as they competed in their second spring season match against Navy this past weekend.
The Bonnies, who defeated Loyola (MD) in their opening match of the spring season, couldn’t get things going against the Midshipmen on Saturday. Navy proved to cause some trouble as both the men’s and women’s teams fell to the Midshipmen 5-2 and 6-1, respectively.
While the Bonnies weren’t able to get the win, the men’s team was still able to find some success in doubles play. Freshmen Archie Graham and Rasmus Egehus picked up a win in the No. 1 doubles match 6-2. Navy responded in No. 2 doubles, winning 6-3. Freshman Connor Turner and senior Luke Riemann won No. 3 7-5, to take two of three over the Midshipmen.
At No. 6 singles, junior Luke Young picked up the men’s only singles win 6-4, 6-0.
On the women’s side, the Bonnies failed to pick up a victory in doubles play. However, sophomore and Bonaventure athlete of the week, Alexandra Jansson, believes that the doubles squads are bound for a big year.
“Our doubles matches were also pretty strong and I feel like we have three solid doubles pairs that can really do us well this season,” Jansson said. “Overall we have a really strong team this year, and I am super excited to see how far we can go.”
Jansson helped the team pick up its lone singles victory. After going down 6-7 in the first set, Jansson won the final two sets 6-4, 10-5 to complete the comeback and earn the victory.
“Playing Navy was definitely a bit tougher but I had the goal of keeping my expectations low and just focusing on playing my game, which in this case led to victory – I was very happy with that,” Jansson said. “ I think we all went in with a good attitude and I felt pretty confident in that if I can keep my head cold then the rest will come. For me, it was important to just take each match one step at a time.”
Jansson also helped secure the team’s first victory of the spring season going 2-0 at No. 1 singles against Loyola (MD).
“Jansson is a good leader,” St. Bonaventure tennis head coach Michael Bates said. “It’s a tough position playing No. 1 and she’s been there since a freshman. She does a good job competing at that position against the best player from every school.”
With the Bonnies’ first two games under their belt, Bates is happy with the team’s competitiveness but sees room for improvement in terms of consistency.
“We have a lot of things to work on, but we won two doubles points this weekend, so if we continue playing hard that’s going to be key for us the rest of the year,” Bates said. “Sometimes we’re a little bit off in knowing when to pick and hit the right shots. Sometimes we go for a shot too early when we didn’t really have to, so we have to be more patient sometimes.”
According to Bates, Bonaventure looks to improve quickly as the team faces tough competition over the next few weeks.
The men travel to Cleveland this weekend as they take on Cleveland State Saturday, Jan. 28. The women’s next match will take place Friday, Feb. 3 as they battle against A-10 foe, Fordham.
“It’s going to be tough as Fordham was a finalist last year, but we want to see what the level of play is like and what we need to do to compete at that level – I think it’s going to be a good challenge for us,” Bates said. “Cleveland State just knocked off a power five school in Purdue, so it’s going to be a very competitive match. For our young guys to see that level week in and week out is going to be good for them.”
halea22@bonaventure.edu
