This season we may be able to expect good things and positive improvement from both the men's and women's tennis teams.
"On paper, we're two of the best teams I feel I've ever coached," Head Coach Kendell Hale said.
Men's team
This past week the men traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Gonzaga. The men made a clean sweep against Gonzaga winning all seven games.
Hale hopes to see this type of outcome become a trend for the men's team.
The group has picked up two new players, giving them a deeper bench and more talent.
"You know we're just deeper," Hale said. "We've picked up two incredible players, one a transfer from Ball State [Brett Berryman], and another from Brazil [Gustavo Guerin]."
A surprising fact about the team is that there are no seniors.
According to Hale, the team has incredible talent, and is not going to lose any of that talent in the coming year.
"We basically have the same team for the next two years and that's just really good to know as a coach," Hale said.
Returning this season for the men's team are juniors Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Erwin Quintanilla and sophomore Serge Ristivojevic,
"We already had a really solid core," Hale said. "The guys we have returning - we have four really good players."
Hale has hopes of seeing some home games for the guys next year, now that the conference is recognizing the level of UMKC's team.
"Once they see how good we are," Hale said, "they're going to give us more matches next year at our home because they do see that we are a quality competitor."
Even with a grueling schedule and a lot of time on the road, Hale still sees a chance at winning the conference.
"We were close last year, and we're even deeper this year," he said. "We have six guys who can play any position at any time."
He's certain the men's tennis team will be a great team to follow this season and in the seasons to come.
Women's team
The women's tennis team looks to be on the up and up. Last season they ended a 58-game losing streak and are expected to continue to improve this year.
"This year we're way stronger," Hale said. "We are predicted in this season to be 5th in the conference and our goal is to get to the conference, which is the top 4."
Last weekend, the ladies lost in their matches to the University of Texas in El-Paso (UTEP), but with freshman Daniela Amelunge, a new transfer, Hale has hopes of future success.
"[Daniela] just came to us this semester from Bolivia, and she's coming in to play the one and two spots, so that really helps us," Hale said.
Two other players who should really be helping the team this year are seniors Caitlin Burke and Emily Lindsay, both in their last year of play.
While there are these talented players on the team, Hale said that he's really proud of the way the whole team is playing together.
"It's not going to be just one individual person," he said. "We've just had a lot of different people step up."
This coming weekend the women go up against North Florida and Florida A&M at Jacksonville, Fla.
kbryce@unews.com
