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Box Score 2 LaGRANGE, Ga. - The
Hayden Embry era as the head coach for The W tennis program officially began on Sunday morning at LaGrange College. The Owls women's team dropped a close 4-3 decision to the Panthers, while the men's squad was defeated, 5-2.
In the ladies' bout, LAG would win the doubles point by taking both the Nos. 1 and 2 matches. Buoyed by a pair of forfeit wins in the Nos. 5 and 6 singles slots – by
Karlee Capps and
Emma Horton, respectively – MUW picked up its third point at No. 4 singles. In that match,
Alaina Mathis earned a dominant 6-2, 6-2 straight sets victory over the Panthers' Aireona Williams.
On the men's side, LaGarnge won first and second doubles to secure the pair's point. However, the MUW tandem of
Dylan Barber and
Jonathan Mitchell, playing third doubles, toppled the Panthers' Caleb Taff and Kyle Moore, 6-3.
MUW's two points came at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, where the program's first-ever international players were victorious in straight sets. At No. 1 singles, it was junior
Alvaro Bardales (Tacna, Peru) earning a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Panthers' Yoni Falla. That was followed by
Josh Cooper's (Melbourne, Australia) win over Michael Strydom, 6-3, 6-4.
"It was a really competitive match for both our women's and men's teams," Embry said. "The women had a chance to pull off a win, but I think those first-game jitters affected us a bit. Once everyone settled down, we really started to play to our potential.
"On the men's side, it was way more competitive than it looked on paper. Our newcomers, Dylan and Mitch, did an awesome job winning their doubles match, and it was fantastic to see our first international players win their singles matches, too! We had some tight sets that we could have taken, which might have changed the momentum for us, but it just didn't go our way. Overall, though, it was a great learning experience that will help us get ready for Saturday and the spring season."
The W will host LaGrange as the second half of the home-and-home series this coming Saturday (Oct. 4/10 a.m.) at the Owls' Garrett Courts.
