BABSON PARK, Fla. (April 6, 2019) – Playing in their first conference matches since February 27, the nationally-recognized Webber International University men's and women's tennis teams returned to Sun Conference action against rival Southeastern University on a busy Saturday in Babson Park, Florida. In the end, both the Webber men and women fell behind 2-1 after doubles action and lost their respective matches as the Webber men came up short at 5-4 while the Webber women's team fell 7-2 to a Fire squad that was ranked No. 19 in the NAIA.
Notable Men's Results:
Doubles
Singles
- Hugo Hasegawa was victorious 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 1 spot.
- In a match that featured a one hour lightening delay and lasted for over eight hours in total, the Warriors found themselves behind 4-2 at the point of the delay needing to win each of the final three singles matches to pull off the comeback.
- That comeback effort by the Warriors got off to a great start as Christof Buehler won 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 at No. 5 singles and Marc Schneider won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.
- Then, just when it looked like Webber might come all the way back with Matthew Alexander, who was playing in only his third singles match of the season, and his opponent Santiago Haas tied at 3-3 in the deciding third set, Alexander simply ran out of gas and played a brilliant match, but could not pull it out. In the end, Alexander fell 6-0, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3.
- Webber, which is currently receiving votes in the latest NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll, fell to 9-7 overall and 3-3 in The Sun Conference as the Warriors will now need a win against a SCAD Savannah team that is 1-5 in conference next weekend to secure a spot in the league's postseason tournament. A win in that one and the Warriors will play a Keiser University team that is undefeated in the conference in the first round of the tournament.
Notable Women's Results:
Doubles
Singles
- Webber's lone win in singles came from Svenja Koenig in the No. 5 spot, who took it 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) to go undefeated on the day.
- Paula John fell 6-3, 6-0 in the No. 2 spot, Isabelle Niehoff fell 7-5, 6-0 in the No. 3 spot, and Jenna Fosdick lost 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 4 position.
- The Lady Warriors, who are currently receiving the second most votes out of all teams listed in the receiving votes section of the latest NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll with 41 votes, fell to 8-7 overall and 4-2 in The Sun Conference. The Warriors are locked into reaching The Sun Conference Tournament regardless of their result against No. 6 SCAD Savannah next week, but Webber will need a win to earn the No. 3 seed or it will be the No. 4 seed with a loss, setting themselves up to play a Keiser team that is undefeated in The Sun Conference.
Next Up: Webber will finally look to wrap up Sun Conference play as both the men's and women's teams battle SCAD Savannah, which is ranked No. 6 on the women's side of the NAIA, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 13.
