COLUMBUS, Miss. – It may just be the fall, non-traditional portion of its season, but The W men's tennis has already served notice that it is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2025-26. Combining talent and a new mentality, exhibit last Saturday's 4-3 loss to LaGrange College (whom the Owls have never beaten).
 
MUW came up just shy of reversing a 5-2 loss at LaGrange two weeks ago, but Owls Head Coach Hayden Embry saw his team as "way more competitive and we fought hard" in the rematch in Columbus. And it started from the get-go in doubles play.
 
This time out, MUW would win the doubles point, completing two wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions. At first doubles, the tandem of newcomers Alvaro Bardales and Josh Cooper won by a 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) score. At second doubles, Dylan Barber and Jonathan Mitchell also knocked off their Panthers' foes by a 7-6 (7-5) tally, to give MUW a 1-0 lead in the team score.
 
In singles, LaGrange reeled off straight set wins at the Nos. 4, 3, and 5 spots, in order of finish, to take a 3-1 match lead.
 
Then at second singles, Bardales completed a 6-4, 6-2 win over LaGrange's Yoni Falla to make the match score, 3-2.
 
The No. 1 and No. 6 singles' bouts both split sets and were decided by proset tiebreakers in the third set. At first singles, Cooper lost the first set to LAG's Michael Strydon, 6-4, but bounced back to take the second set, 7-5. Cooper was edged in the tiebreaker, 10-7, as the Panthers took a 4-2 lead and clinched the match.
 
At sixth singles, Barber clipped the Panthers' Kyle Moore in set one, 6-4, then lost set two by that same score. In the tiebreaker, Barber was victorious, 10-7, for the final 4-3 team score.