The California Lutheran University men’s tennis team opened their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season on Feb. 21.

Facing Pomona-Pitzer, the Kingsmen lost the match 8-1. Though this loss was upsetting for them at the start of their season ,they are hopeful that with their hard work the Kingsmen will begin to see a difference in scores on the court.

Early in the morning filled with tennis, Cal Lutheran found themselves coming close to taking over some of the doubles matches. Some games came just a few points short, however they were unable to pull away those victories.

Though the team was struggling to out score the Sagehens, senior Moises Cardenas demonstrated he is here to win this season.

Cardenas defeated Connor Hudson of Pomona-Pitzer 6-3, 6-3 to get the only point achieved for Cal Lutheran that morning. The match added to Cardenas’ undefeated season.

Head coach Mike Gennette is confident Cardenas will be able to build upon his winning streak this season.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement from our number one player Moises Cardenas. He came in very fit and has gained a lot of strength. It’s his senior year and is undefeated so far, so I think it’s going to be fun to see what he is capable of this year,” Gennette said.

Cardenas’ doubles partner for the day, junior Oliver Thornton is also excited to see what he and his partner have in store for this season. Thornton explained Cardenas is everything that a collegiate tennis player wants in a doubles partner.

“I like to play with a partner that keeps me positive. If I miss a couple of shots he is not looking at me negatively and keeps me motivated during the match,” Thornton said.  “And I like to play with someone who likes to fight just as hard as I do. I feel like the partner I have now is filling those requirements.”

Thornton also expressed his disappointment in players leaving the team this season with injuries or for personal reasons. Though the team feels a little jumbled right now, there is hope from the team and fans that the Kingsmen will start to click together.

RC Thornton, father of Oliver Thornton, will be following the team closely this season. Saturday’s match was the first time Oliver’s dad had seen him play collegiately.

“I’m definitely proud of my son and we’ve got a good team and some good hustlers out here,” RC Thorton said.

As the season goes on, fans as well as Gennette are eager to see what the future has in store for the Kingsmen.

Gennette said he feels that Saturday’s match up against Pomona-Pitzer was a “wake up call” that they are not a top 10 team yet this season. However, with enough practice and encouragement from each other, this team has a tremendous amount of potential.

According to Gennette, his team’s goal for this season is very clear.

“If we are improving, then we are succeeding,” Gennette said.

The Kingsmen’s next match will be Feb. 28 at Occidental College. Hungry for a victory after this past weekend, the Kingsmen will face the Tigers at 10 a.m.

Heather Tomaszewski
Staff Writer
Published February 25th, 2015