Can't
get to the game? Don't worry, we've got ya covered.
Tiger tennis team roughed up by Washburn
4/24/2008
By NICK McQUEEN
nmcqueen@dailynews.net
With the rainout last week and the upcoming Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament in Topeka, the weekend ahead is a busy one of the Fort Hays State University tennis team.
With the threat of another rainout in the forecast, Tiger coach Brian Flax was just happy his team was able to get Wednesday's match in with Washburn University, the No. 5 ranked team in the region, at the FHSU courts.
Even though the day didn't warrant many positives for the Tigers.
Washburn won easily, 9-0, dropping Fort Hays to 9-9 on the year and 1-5 in MIAA play. The Tigers now have one more match in the regular season, a make-up date with Emporia State University that was suspended earlier this month in Hays.
The two teams will meet Friday in Topeka before competing in the two-day MIAA tourney over the weekend.
"My slogan right now is one day at a time," Flax said. "It was nice to be able to get the match in, even though the score didn't come out the way we would like.
"If we wouldn't have been able to get that in, we would have been playing two matches Friday instead of just one,"¬ Flax added.
The shutout moved the Lady Blues to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in MIAA play, as they sit alone in fourth place heading into the tournament.
"They've had a quality program over the years, and it's no different this year," Flax said. "It wasn't one of our best performances. Not taking anything away Washburn (No. 29 in the nation), they have a lot do to with that.
"The kids' effort was there, so that was good to see,"¬ he added.
Junior Brett Baldwin, Fort Hays' No. 2 singles player and also part of No. 1 doubles, sat out the day due to injury. She is being saved for the MIAA tourney.
"There were just too many negatives compared to the few positives of having her in the lineup this time,"¬ Flax said. "We want to have everyone we can for the tournament."
The lone Tiger senior, Kris Marten, was recognized following the final match, playing in the final home date of her career. Earlier this season, Marten became the all-time wins leader in singles and doubles combined.
Last season, the Tigers went into the MIAA tourney as a lower seed, but claimed a big win over Missouri Southern State University, a win that pushed the the Tigers into the ITA regional rankings to start this season.
Northwest Missouri State University (19-3, 7-0 MIAA) looks to be the favorite heading into the weekend, with a No. 31 ranking in the nation. The Bearcats are the defending MIAA champions.
Fort Hays is ahead of two programs, Missouri Southern (6-10, 1-5) and Missouri Western State University (3-13, 0-6), the lone MIAA win (6-3) so far on the Tigers' schedule. The Tigers lost 5-4 to Missouri Southern on the road. With the makeup date against Washburn, the Tigers only played two MIAA matches on their home court this season.
"We have some tough matches ahead of us, and we just want to close the season out on a strong note and keep everyone healthy throughout the tournament," Flax said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |