Tennis ends season seventh in conference
Matthew Hoffman
Sports Editor
The Carroll College tennis team rebounded from a rough stretch of conference play with a strong performance at the Midwest Conference Championship. The team continued their theme of improvement from last year by more than doubling last year’s point total, tallying up 27, good enough for seventh.
Carroll had no one in the #1 singles match, but had Micheal Wajda in the #2 slot. The sophomore put up strong resistance but was knocked out in the first round, 4-8, 2-6. Wajda came back strong in the consolation bracket, winning his first match in a blowout (10-2) then just taking the final, 10-9 (7-0).
In the #3 spot, junior John Krewer won his play-in game to earn a slot in the first round, prevailing in a tight match 7-6, 7-6. However, Krewer fell in his next game5-7, 2-6.
Freshman Seth Pamperin had a similar experience. He snapped a seven game losing streak with a win in his play-in game to earn a spot in the first round of the #4 bracket. After losing the first game 3-6, Pamperin fought back to take the next two 6-4, 6-4. However, Pamperin fell in his next game 4-6, 2-6.
Junior Dave Bingham got the Pios’ only first round win, cruising through in 6-2, 6-1. Bingham then won the first game of his semi-final match 6-1, but dropped the next two and the match, 5-7, 2-6.
Junior Adam Knoelke lost his first round match, falling 0-6, 3-6. He rebounded in his consolation matches, winning the first 10-6. However, he fell just short in the consolation final, losing 8-10.
Carroll failed to advance any of their doubles teams past the first round, but picked up some points from each duo. The combos of Wajda and freshman Matt Ware and Krewer and freshman Shea O’Rorke each won a consolation match, while Bingham and Pamperin won their consolation final.
Pamperin was impressed with the team’s progress from last year. “That was a great improvement,” he said.
However, the team had high midseason hopes. After being in position to qualify for the post-season tournament, the Pios couldn’t come through in Northern division play. On April 12, they dropped a close match to rival Ripon College, losing 4-5.
Carroll appeared to bounce back with a 6-3 win over Beloit College on April 16, but went on to drop their last two matches of the season. They fell to St. Norbert’s College on April 19, 2-7, and went down to Lawrence University 2-7.
Still, the team’s improvement was marked. One big key was first-year head coach Craig Mours. The 25-year old was a former Carroll standout and returned to the program to take over for former coach Rick Mobley. Pamperin felt that he related well to the team.
“I really liked him,” said Pamperin. “He knows what’s up.”
The team’s improvement seems poised to continue next year, as the whole team returns. Also, Mours brings in a strong recruiting class to add to the team’s depth and continue to grow the program. “I think we’ll play a lot better,” said Pamperin.