Strong doubles play was not enough to secure a victory for the California Lutheran University men’s tennis team (3-6) as the Kingsmen fell 5-2 to the Whitworth University Pirates (9-4) on Tuesday, March 24 at the Poulson Tennis Center.
Cal Lutheran opened the match by securing the doubles point, winning two of their three regulated matches. During doubles play, the team also participated in an unregulated match that helped discover chemistry with possible new doubles partners, as well as allowing the athletes to get more repetition. The pairing of first-year Toki Adachi and senior Mateo Sonaglia earned a 6-2 victory, and senior Ethan Sherwood and first-year Maxence Faniel won 7-6.
This momentum did not carry into singles play however, as the Kingsmen won just one of six matches, as Adachi earned a 6-2 win. The Pirates secured the remaining matches to seal their victory.
Sonaglia said the transition from playing doubles to singles required maintaining focus.
“The main mindset was just to keep going, to keep doing the things that were working,” Sonaglia said. “We just have to get back to focus and give it all in the singles matches.”
Sonaglia also said remaining calm and present is an important part of the game.
“Every point matters, if one point doesn’t work my way, I’m trying to reset as quickly as possible so the next point will come,” Sonaglia said.
Adachi said he worked on carrying the momentum from the doubles victory into his singles match.
“I was feeling good, in a positive mood, so I just wanted to keep that for my singles too,” Adachi said. “I just try to stay positive, start off strong, and … fight for my teammates.”
Adachi said team practice has helped him develop his game during matches.
“I try to do some extra hitting and training too, like, after practice,” Adachi said. “Stamina is a big part of the game, … so I just try to keep my stamina up all the time and try to push myself.”
Head Coach Mike Gennette said preparation and focus are key elements the team needs to improve on.
“You want to try to show up prepared in the first place, be ready to compete and ready to battle,” Gennette said. “We’re noticing some issues with being able to play under pressure. Being able to stay focused in big points is an area that we need to continue to work on.”
Gennette said the team is working with a mental performance coach to address these challenges.
“We’re working with a mental coach, … and he tries to walk them through different situations and give them some skills,” Gennette said.
The Kingsmen will look to implement these skills when they face the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags in an away conference matchup on Friday, April 3 at 3 p.m.
In the meantime, Gennette said the Kingsmen will be hard at work in practice.
“We’re going to dig in and grind and hit a lot of balls and try to build confidence,” Gennette said.
