Men and women beat Quincy

Tennis head coach Pete Kendall said he was surprised after Tuesday's 7-2 and 9-0 wins against Quincy University in men's and women's tennis.

"I was expecting Quincy to be much more competitive," Kendall said. "These are the best two teams they've had for quite a while."

For the men, the win came after a tough weekend at the ITA Regional Classic. Freshman Adam King and junior Eric McCullough advanced to the round of 32. King won his first match 6-3, 6-1, then lost 6-1, 6-4, in the second round. McCullough won on a tie-break 6-2, 3-6, 10-8, then lost 6-0, 6-3, in his second match.

In doubles play, freshmen Mike Merchant and Joe Murphy-Baum advanced to the round of 16 with an 8-5 win in their first match. In their second round, they lost 8-2 to end their tournament run.

"I don't think we played badly at all," Kendall said. "We played pretty good singles, and overall, we did pretty well against the best players in the region."

Kendall said he credits the tough competition to the format of the tournament.

"It's an open draw, so you just never know," Kendall said. "A six [seed] could draw a one, a lot of it is based on who you draw in the first round."

The Bulldogs bounced back from the weekend with a 7-2 win against Quincy on Tuesday.

The doubles pairings of freshmen Kirk Schlueter and King, and Merchant and Murphy-Baum both won (8-5, 8-6) giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead going into singles play.

The Bulldogs won five singles matches to take the match. Senior Colin Boswell won 6-1, 6-1, against a familiar opponent.

"I played pretty well," Boswell said. "I had beat their No. 2 [player] earlier in the year, and I beat him a little bit easier today. I was definitely pleased to win my singles match."

McCullough, King, Merchant and Murphy-Baum also won. Schlueter lost in a tie-break.

The Bulldogs faced Missouri Baptist University on Wednesday, in their last match of the fall season. The Bulldogs beat the Spartans, 9-0 in the match.

"The competition wasn't too good," Kendall said. "We did what we had to do. When you're playing against a team you're going to beat you just do what you have to do."

In doubles play, the pairing of McCullough and Powell won 8-3, King and Schlueter won 8-2 and Merchant and Murphy-Baum won 8-0.

The Bulldogs went 6-0 in singles.

"I played pretty well," King said. "It was a great ending to the season after winning 6-2, 6-4. [The competition] was pretty intense. I had a very consistent opponent who played a lot of good points."

The rest of the Bulldogs fared just as well. McCullough, Powell, Schlueter, Merchant and Murphy-Baum also won their matches.

The Bulldogs finished their season 4-0 overall.

"I'm happy with the fall season," Kendall said. "We went undefeated, and you can't get much better than that."

In women's tennis, the Bulldogs got their second 9-0 win in a row against Quincy.

The Bulldogs started fast, going 3-0 in doubles play. Kendall said he credits the win to the fast start.

"No doubt, if you get off to a good start it makes a big difference," Kendall said.  "We came out and got that good start, and that really set the tone for the rest of the match."

Senior Amy Ochs and junior Ellen Russell won their doubles match 8-5. Senior Kelsey Kuykendall and junior Dagmar Velez won their match 8-4, as did sophomore Maggi Schutte and freshman Jessica Gennuso.

In singles play, the Bulldogs swept the Hawks 6-0.

"It was a real team effort," Kendall said. "I told the team that I expected Quincy to show up all fired up and ready to have their chance this year, but I think we left no doubt."

The women's team will play in a tournament at Western Illinois University this weekend to wrap up its fall season.