APU’s tennis teams are looking to finish their seasons on a strong note after returning home from hard-fought battles against rivals Point Loma and UC San Diego (UCSD) this weekend. With only two more matches remaining in the season before the PacWest Conference Tournament and NCAA National Championship, both the men’s and women’s teams have something to prove.
Men’s Tennis
The men’s team is red hot and carrying momentum as it prepares for the PacWest tournament and nationals. The men defeated both Point Loma and UCSD 6-3.
With those two victories, the Cougars improved to 17-3 on the season and are currently riding a nine-match winning streak.
Helping orchestrate these wins was senior Jan Meyer, who broke the tiebreaker in No. 1 singles to claim victory over UCSD’s Eric Tseng.
“I have been proud of the team. We have had a few tough matches on the road, and we pulled off a really close win. It was a really good effort overall,” Meyer said.
These victories were huge for the Cougars, ranked No. 3 in the West Region. The win over No. 2 UCSD puts APU in position to retake the No. 2 ranking, and provides a measure of revenge after the Cougars lost 5-4 at home earlier this season.
“Obviously, our main goal is to go to Nationals, with the main event in Denver, Colorado,” Meyer said. “It’s a great experience. If we can make it, we’ll set new goals for the tournament. We’re just looking to get that next win, and from that point on, we’ll keep working and setting up new goals.”
However, it wasn’t all easy sailing to get where they are now. The team is predominantly young with a total of five freshmen and only one senior—Meyer.
“Our team has a lot of freshmen,” junior Pascal Engel said. “At the beginning of the season, we had some issues, [but] we were able to fix those issues, and we found a rhythm. I think that were one unit now on the court.”
Meyer believes that the three losses suffered early in the season were a necessary humbling experience.
“We had a couple bad losses at the end of February through early March, and I think that those losses were necessary because the team is really young,” Meyer said. “At some point, the team got overconfident because we thought we had so much potential.”
The Cougars lost in round 16 at last year’s national tournament and are looking to redeem that performance.
“It’s never about one person. It’s about the team. Our main goal is to get to the finals in Nationals,” Engel said. “Then after we get there, we have to win it. That’s what I’m looking forward to with the team. We’re going to work hard every day for it. You never know what can happen.”
The men will play against Concordia on Friday, April 8, and will finish out the regular season away at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, April 9.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s team is also doing well this season, but will have to fight its way to the top against its remaining opposition. Like the men, the women rode a seven-game winning streak headed into San Diego. However, they did not have the same luck that the men did that weekend, losing to both Point Loma and UCSD.
UCSD got its revenge on the Cougars after having been defeated earlier in the season. The losses drop the Cougars to a 13-6 overall record.
“We definitely will have to fix what we did wrong, but we can’t dwell on it,” sophomore Jackie Resler said. “It’s disappointing to have those unfortunate losses, but we can’t let that drag us down. As a team, we’re good enough to win.”
Also similar to the men, the women have sported an impressive record with a very young team. Team captain Lindsey Yeom is the only senior on the roster.
“Most of us are underclassmen, so we definitely look up to our three juniors and one senior because they have more experience than we do,” Resler said. “I’ve learned so much this year from them, and what they [have to] say [is] very important. They’re so great at taking care of us and giving us helpful advice.”
Resler explained that a major part of their success this season has been due to team bonding and a family-like relationship.
“We know each other very well and see each other every day, and that’s one of the things that helps us a lot,” Reiser said. “We…don’t see each other as tennis players or teammates—we see each other as friends, sisters and family.”
The No. 3 regionally ranked women will play Concordia at home on Thursday, April 7, and will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday, April 8.
Both the men and women will compete in the PacWest Conference Tournament from Wednesday, April 13, to Saturday, April 16, in Surprise, Arizona. The NCAA National Championships will be in May.