Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams headed West over spring break to play in California. The men went 1-2 on the trip while the women were an even 2-2.

In men’s play, the Bears opened up with a 0-7 loss to the University of Redlands. While the team was shutout, the match was closer than the final score would indicate; the top three singles matches all went three sets.

Coming off the loss, the Bears rebounded to defeat Pomona-Pitzer 5-2. This match was closely contested as well with all six singles matches needing three sets to be decided. The Bears’ only singles loss came at number three singles. Pomona-Pitzer swept the doubles competition for their second point of the competition.

In their final match of the road trip, the Bears were shut out again-this time by Azusa Pacific. Azusa Pacific did not lose a set in the victory. While the Bears had a tough road trip, they were facing stiff competition. Redlands is ranked number 11 and Pomona-Pitzer number 25 in Division III. Azusa Pacific is currently ranked no. one in Division II and is undefeated at 13-0.

Sophomore second singles player Ari Rosenthal credited the trip with providing needed experience and cited the team’s win over Pomona-Pitzer as their biggest of the season.

“Our spring trip was a very valuable experience for us,” Rosenthal said. “The win that we had over Pomona was our best win of the season, in my opinion.”

While the Bear’s season record is only 2-5, they have faced extremely tough competition. According to Rosenthal though, the Bears, who entered the season with a number seven national ranking, may have become victims of their own high expectations. Rosenthal credits a more relaxed attitude with helping the team in its win over Pomona-Pitzer.

“I think that until that match we had been putting too much pressure on ourselves to win and that mentality was backfiring,” Rosenthal said. “[In our match against Pomona-Pitzer] we played the way we know we are capable of playing without worrying about the end result.ÿ I think that this relaxed strategy helped us get the win.ÿ I know that it helped me.”

The women’s team faced top-notch teams in their trip also. The team began the trip with a 4-5 loss to number 18 ranked California Lutheran University-their first loss of the season. Despite losing all three of its doubles matches, the Bears nearly rallied back to win the competition.

The Bears then lost their second match of the season to number 14 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 5-4. While the team won number three through no. six singles, they again lost all three doubles matches. Rallying from their two consecutive losses, the Bears beat number 13 University of Redlands and number seven Pomona-Pitzer to square their road trip record at 2-2.

Playing in four matches decided by a single point 5-4, Junior first singles player Kacie Cook said the team’s camaraderie was a key factor in keeping the team positive during the close matches.

“All four matches could have gone either way,” Cook said. “The whole team really supported each other.”

The men and women’s team will play next this Sunday at home against Graceland University and Brandeis University.

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