ERIC THIELE STAFF WRITER
The Wartburg men’s tennis team traveled to Mount Vernon on Saturday and defeated Cornell College 6-3 and defeated Westminster College, in (Mo.), 6-3 as well. This improved the Knights overall record to 7-4 and 2-0 in the Iowa Conference.
The match against Cornell saw Mitch Eslick win his singles match, 6-2 and 6-4, against Kris Andresen. Eslick also was in a doubles match with the conference player of the week, Tom Koenen, who defeated the duo of Andresen and John Mineck, 8-6.
Koenen also was able to defeated his Cornell opponent in his singles match, 6-2 and 6-1.
Chris Buckingham also won his singles match, 6-1 and 6-0. However, his doubles match with Aaron Masterson did not go as planned as the duo was defeated, 9-7. Aaron Masterson was unable to pull off a win in singles play as he was defeated, 6-1 and 6-0.
“With the addition of Mitch Eslick, we are looking pretty strong with our one, two, and three. Mitch, Buck, and Tom,” head coach Ben Oestreich said.
The meet with Cornell also saw Andrew Kahler win his singles match, 7-5, 4-6, and 10-5. Kahler teamed up with James Nguyen in doubles play to defeat their opponent, 8-6. Nguyen was unable to pull out a win in singles play as he was defeated, 6-1 and 6-4.
Over spring break, the team traveled to Hilton Head, S.C. and the team was able to win matches against Catholic University, 9-0, and also against Adrian College, 8-1. The team also was defeated by Methodist University (NC), 6-3 and by Grand Rapids Community College, 6-3 as well.
There were several bright spots for the Knights over their spring break competitions as Tom Koenen went 8-0 in his competitions which earned him the IIAC Conference Player of the Week. Chris Buckingham also did very well in his competitions as he went 7-1.
“Tom came back strong and went 8-0, which was phenomenal to see him come back and really get after it and get through stiff competition unblemished. It was a real nice honor for him to get the conference player of the week for his efforts,” Oestreich said.
Oestreich said it has been a good start to the season so far and that they are looking to move forward in the right direction each day.
The Knights will attempt to improve on their season as they travel to Davenport on Friday to face St. Ambrose at 5 p.m.
Photo: Andrew Kahler tosses up a serve in a match earlier this year. Photo by Mac Slavin