Tennis

Men's Tennis Team Plays Tough at Conference Tournament

Second-year Alex Cline prepares for a slice backhand at #1 singles.

The Eutectic men's tennis team just missed a ticket to the second round of the KIAC tournament with a 5-4 loss to Indiana University East on May 4 in Richmond, Ind. Despite having to compete during finals week, the Eutectics let the stress of finals melt away while on the court against IUE and almost pulled off an upset in the process.

In doubles, the number-two team of fifth-year Bohan Li and fourth-year Mitch Gardner had the only STLCOP win, sailing past Indiana East's second doubles team 8-1. The Eutectic number-one team of second-year Alex Cline and first-year Nick Selby lost in a tie-breaker, while third-year Matt Respicio and first-year Brad Rumancik lost a close one at third doubles, 5-8.

Going into singles down 1-2, the Euts knew they had to step it up. Three courts went to three sets with the Eutectics claiming two of those. Cline, at first singles, lost the first set, but turned it around in time to defeat IUE's Ty Butler
2-6, 6-2, 6-1, while Li, on court three, took down the Grenadiers' Derek Blank 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Respicio suffered through leg cramps at number-four singles only to lose the hard-fought match in the third set. The other Eutectic win came from Gardner, who, at court six, has the best singles record for the Euts this season. Selby and Rumancik, who had several set points, took tough losses at courts two and five, respectively.

Head coach Caleb Barnes was excited about how his Eutectic team competed. "Everyone played their best match of the year and we stepped up big," said Barnes. "Alex [Cline] responded really well and stepped up to win at number one, but my biggest surprise was Matt [Respicio] really playing far better than he has all year long. I think Alex finally reached his potential, but Matt played above any expectations."

The Eutectics finished their inaugural season ranked fifth in the KIAC with a season record of 3-8. "Overall it was a great season," Barnes said. "The unity of this team was amazing and I think that will set a great standard for our future teams."

Fourth-year Mitch Gardner picks up two more singles wins  for the Eutectics.

Men's Tennis Team Splits Weekend Conference Matches 

Before picking up its first conference win against Berea College on April 22, the Eutectics took a tough loss to conference-leader Asbury University on April 21. Fourth-year Mitch Gardner pulled out the only win for the Eutectics against top-ranked Asbury at number-six singles, beating Asbury's James Banter 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(5).

Not letting the 1-8 loss against the Asbury Eagles on Saturday get them down, the STLCOP team turned around and defeated the Berea Mountaineers 6-3 on their home court the next day. The Euts' court-one doubles team of second-year Alex Cline and first-year Nick Selby won 8-6, while STLCOP's Matt Respicio (third-year) and Brad Rumancik (first-year) overtook Berea's court-three doubles 8-4. Cline (court one), Selby (court two) and Rumancik (court five) won their singles matches in straight sets, along with Gardner at court six. Gardner currently has the best singles record on the Eutectic team, with six wins and four losses for the 2011-12 season.

The Eutectics have now finished their inaugural regular season with a 3-7 record. They are currently preparing for the KIAC tournament scheduled for May 4-5 at Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky.    

Men's Tennis Team Plays 3-Match Weekend on the Road 

Fifth-year Bohan Li won his court-3 singles match and paired with fourth-year Mitch Gardner for a win at court-2 doubles against IUE over the weekend.

The men's tennis team travelled to New Albany, Ind., over the April 7-8 weekend to fit in three matches. The first two matches were conference match-ups versus Indiana University Southeast and Indiana University East. Because of impending rain for the IUS match on Saturday morning, the teams agreed to begin with singles. As the singles matches wore on, the rain began and the courts began to get wet, causing STLCOP's Alex Cline at number one to call the
match due to dangerous conditions. While the rest of the singles matches were able to finish, none were in the Eutectics' favor as the Euts went down 0-6 to the Grenadiers.

Later that afternoon, after the weather had cleared, the Euts took on IUE, winning three of the nine courts. Fifth-year Bohan Li and fourth-year Mitch Gardner teamed up at number two doubles to beat the Red Wolves doubles team of Derek Blank and Justin Judd 8-5. Li had another win at number three singles, defeating Jake Welsh 6-3, 6-4. First-year Brad Rumancik had the final win for the Euts against the Red Wolves at number five singles, winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

The Eutectics had one last match to play on Sunday against Oakland City University before returning to St. Louis. After doubles play, the Euts were down 1-2, with third-year Matt Respicio and Rumancik eeking out a win at third doubles 9-8 (4). Unfortunately for the Eutectics, the previous day's hard-fought matches caught up with them, as they could not come up with a win on the singles courts. The Euts lost to the Mighty Oaks 1-8.

The Eutectics are now 1-6 for the season and 0-3 in the KIAC. They travel to Kentucky for another three-match
roadtrip this weekend (April 21-22) when they play conference members Berea College, Asbury University and Alice
Lloyd College.

Men's Tennis Team Kicks off Inaugural Conference Season

The Eutectic men's tennis team kicked off it's inaugural season in the KIAC with matches against Missouri Baptist and
Fontbonne universities. The first match of the season was a tough loss against Missouri Baptist on March 13. Second-
year Alex Cline had a hard-fought match against Missouri Baptist's number one singles player, but could not overcome
him, losing 3-6, 4-6. The Euts lost 0-9.

The match against Fontbonne on March 31 had a completely different outcome. The Euts beat the Griffins 8-1. Cline
paired with first-year Nick Selby at number-one doubles to win 8-6, while third-year Matt Respicio and first-year
Brad Rumancik won second-doubles 8-4. The winning continued into singles with Cline, Selby, Respicio, Rumancik, and
Mitch Gardner posting wins.

The Eutectic men's team hosts it's first conference match of the season against Brescia University on April 7 in Forest Park.

STLCOP Women's Tennis Inaugural Season Ends at Conference Tournament   

Fourth-year Maryanne Lee

The Eutectic Women's Tennis Team competed as the fifth-ranked team in the first round of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Friday, October 28 at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Ind. Pitted against fourth-ranked Midway College, who had a 1-0 record against STLCOP this season, the Eutectics succumbed to the Eagles 1-8.

The one STLCOP win came from an unlikely pair at third doubles: first-year top-six player and previous KIAC player of the week Carmen Stach and first-year Eutectic volleyball star LeAnn Tran. Tran, who had not played a tennis match since high school, stepped in to play for the STLCOP tennis team when several players were unable to travel. Stach and Tran won the match in a tiebreaker, winning the 8-game pro-set with a score of 9-8.

The Eutectic loss in the first round of the conference tournament effectively ended the season for the STLCOP team. Their overall record of 3-6  (2-6 in the KIAC) will go down in STLCOP history as the first-ever complete tennis
season for STLCOP women's tennis. The team will play a  few off-season matches in the spring. 

STLCOP Women Take Loss to Berea 

The Eutectic Women's Tennis Team hosted KIAC member Berea College on Saturday, October 8, in Forest Park. The Eutectic squad looked strong during doubles, winning two of the three courts. Number-two doubles partners Maryanne Lee and Georgie Boeckmann won 8-4, improving their double record to 5-2 for the season so far, while the duo of Amanda Empson and Carmen Stach won 8-3 at third doubles. After finishing doubles with a 2-1 lead however, STLCOP could only win two of the six singles courts, resulting in a 4-5 loss for the Euts. Lee, again, finished victorious at number-five singles overpowering her Berea opponent6-3,6-1. Empson would also go on to win at the number-six singles court 6-3,6-0.

Currently, the Lady Eutectics are ranked fifth of eight teams in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Lady Eutectics will be back in action this weekend for their final match of the regular season. On Saturday, October 15, the Euts will host conference foe Asbury University at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park at 11am.    

 

STLCOP's Carmen Stach Named KIAC Tennis Player of the Week 

First-year Carmen Stach was named the KIAC women's tennis player of the week by KIAC officials on Monday, October 3. Stach has had a strong start to the season (STLCOP's first intercollegiate tennis season), already winning four out of five singles matches. This week, she stepped up from #3 singles to compete at #2 singles and earned a pair of wins over Indiana East (6-3, 7-5) and Alice Lloyd (6-0, 6-0). STLCOP is currently 3-3 for the season with a 2-3 conference record. The Eutectics will return to action on October 8, when they host Berea College.

Women's Tennis Team at .500 

First-year Georgie Boeckmann follows through on a serve. Photo by Kateryna  Barnes.

Since losing a close opening match against Midway College, the Eutectic Women's Tennis Team has played five more and reached a 3-3 record. Local opponent Fontbonne University hosted the STLCOP men's and women's tennis teams on September 20 only to suffer two losses to the Eutectics. Lacking numbers on the women's side, Fontbonne forfeited two doubles courts and three singles courts, giving up the match before it even started. But, Alex Majors and Alexis Abadie teamed up at number-one doubles to earn a win (8-4), while Carmen Stach added to the team victory by winning her number-three singles match decisively, 6-0, 6-0.The STLCOP men's team played their only match of the off-season against Fontbonne, also coming home with a win, 6-3. Doubles teams of Matt Respicio/Nick Wooodard and Peter Ho/Mitchell Gardner brought the Eutectics to a 2-0 lead going into the singles matches. At singles, Bohan Li, Gardner, Respicio, and Woodard provided wins for the Eutectics.

The Lady Euts next travelled to Owensboro, Ky., to take on KIAC member Brescia University. Despite being down 1-2 after doubles (Georgiana Boeckmann/Maryanne Lee was the only winning team for the STLCOP), the Euts stepped it up in singles to finish off Brescia 5-4. Carmen Stach, Faith Slaton, Boeckmann, and Lee all came up with strong wins against the Brescia singles players.

Over the weekend of October 1-2, the STLCOP women's team played three matches at the Indiana University Southeast courts in New Albany, Ind. After losing to last year's undefeated KIAC champion Indiana Southeast 0-9 on Saturday, the Eutectic team woke up on Sunday ready to play conference matches against Indiana University East and Alice Lloyd College. The IUE team proved too much for the Eutectics, who lost the match 1-8. STLCOP's only win came from Carmen Stach at second singles. STLCOP finished the Alice Lloyd match with better results, winning 7-2. The Lee/Boeckmann duo claimed another win for the Euts at second doubles while Amanda Empson/Samantha Nguyen's third doubles opponents defaulted. At singles, STLCOP racked up points from Stach, Boeckmann, Lee, Empson, and another default from Nguyen's opponent.

Up next, the Eutectics will host Berea College on Saturday, October 8, at noon at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in
Forest Park.

Women's Tennis Team Plays a Strong Opening Match

The Eutectic women’s tennis team hosted KIAC's Midway College for the first-ever intercollegiate match on Saturday,
Aug. 27, in Webster Groves. Head Coach Caleb Barnes expected a tough battle against the Eagles, who were ranked
third in the conference in the pre-season poll and regularly vie for the conference championship. The Lady Euts gave an incredible performance, winning two of the three doubles matches and two of the six singles matches, resulting in a loss of the narrowest of margins, 4-5.
 
Wins at second and third doubles put the Eutectics in a good position going into the singles. Fourth-year Maryanne Lee
partnered with first-year Georgie Boeckmann for a 9-7 pro-set win over Midway's second doubles team, while fifth-year Shannon (Kelly) Bulla and first-year Amanda Empson solidly defeated Midway's third doubles team 8-4. Lee and Empson
continued their winning ways with nail-biting three-set matches in singles. Lee won number four singles 2-6, 7-5, 10-6, while Empson won at number six singles 7-6(9), 3-6, 10-7.

The Lady Euts will enjoy a few weeks of uninterrupted practice time before their next scheduled match on September
20. The men's team will join the women as they take on Fontbonne University at Shaw Park (Clayton, Mo.) at 6:30pm.    

Euts Roll Out Tennis for 2011-12 Season

The Euts will be serving up a new intercollegiate sport for the 2011-12 academic year. Women's and Men's Tennis will compete in a full conference schedule. The ladies team features their conference play in the fall while the men will face off against KIAC foes in the spring, with both teams taking on local and regional teams throughout the year. Most home matches will be played at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park.

Caleb Barnes will take the reigns as Head Coach for both teams and will also serve as the College's Intramurals Supervisor. Barnes competed as an undergrad at Erskine College in South Carolina, where he earned his degree in Physical Education. His most recent position was tennis pro at Brookstone Meadows Tennis in Anderson, South Carolina.