The California Lutheran University Kingsmen tennis match against the University of Redlands Bulldogs was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, April 13, but got rescheduled for Sunday, April 14. On Sunday the Kingsmen lost 0-9 to the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs swept the Kingsmen in doubles 8-5 in match one, 8-0 in match two, and 8-6 in match three.
Conversely, the Bulldogs swept the Kingsmen in singles 6-3 and 6-2 in match one, 7-5 and 6-4 in match two, 7-6 and 6-3 in match three, 7-5 both times in match four, 7-6 and 6-2 in match five, and 10-5 in match six.
The Kingsmen lost against Redlands the last time the two teams faced off and according to some of the players. They said their last match with them was tough and that Redlands is one of their toughest competitors.
Although the Sunday game did not go in favor of the Kingsmen, the team still shared their support toward one another on and off the court and created energy for each other to help everyone do their best, despite the outcome.
“We all know each other outside of the courts which I think really helps to put the energy up, everyone wants everyone to win,” first-year Frederick Otto said.
Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach Leonard Nester said the supportive energy that each player brought has shown to be effective on and off the court.
“We have 10 players on the team and when we’re playing singles, we only have six single matches going at a time, so the other players are rooting us on and going court to court and that support definitely helps,” Nester said.
He said the team consists of players from stateside, out-of-state, and other countries. While the players come from different parts of the world, Nester said they share a common pride in playing Tennis at Cal Lutheran.
“The way they get along with each other, we have two gentlemen from Germany, two from France, Texas, out of state, we have a bunch of men that are proud to be Kingsmen and that’s a plus,” Nester said.
Junior Loup Sudre shared some of his favorite parts of being on the team this season, and what he has learned from being on the team.
“I would say just being a student-athlete, being a team, being able to give the experience that I earn from years and to give to the new player if there is a freshman coming here,” Sudre said.
Nester said the team has made him proud this season with the support they give each other on and off the courts, and how much dedication they put into practicing.
“We’re very happy with men’s team we have this year, I think the camaraderie is really strong, after practice, they stay and then they go to fitness and then they come back and hit on their own,” Nester said.
Nester also said he thinks the team has improved this season, grown as players, and formed a bond with each other to create a strong team.
“Since our fall season that starts in September we don’t have any real matches, we go to a couple tournaments…I think they’ve improved tremendously, I’m gonna say at least 90 percent, what we saw in the fall, and then coming together as a team, I would say that’s 100 percent improvement…makes us as coaches feel very good about the strength and the energy of the team,” Nester said.
The Kingsmen stand at 6-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The team has three matches remaining in the season and the next match is on Tuesday, April 16 at Chapman University at 6 p.m.
