Westmont tennis teams fall to Williams

By JACOB NORLING WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

The Westmont men’s and women’s tennis teams played host to the NCAA Div. III Williams Ephs on Monday in Montecito, with the Ephs getting the better of the Warriors in both matches.

For the Westmont men (69), Williams (7-2) took all three doubles matches, and surrendered only one point in singles to take the match by a score of 6-1. The lone Warrior to claim a match during singles was Ethan Ha, who defeated Shawn Beridia 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 on three.

“We had a couple tough matches last week that seemed to carry over into this morning,” said Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “The guys came out a little bit flat, and the fact is, we have to come out more aggressive in doubles.

“We have to attack when we’re serving, and do a better job of holding our serves, which is something I know we can do. On the positive side of things, that was maybe my favorite match that Ethan Ha has played in his three years here at Westmont. He followed up that 0-6 first set and played more aggressively — and with more purpose. He’s really starting to shape into form.”

The Westmont women’s team (2-

12) suffered the same fate as the men, with Williams (4-4) sweeping the Warriors in doubles to set the tone for an eventual 6-1 victory. Westmont’s lone victory came on three, where Arden Samuels bested Thomann.

“We underperformed today,” acknowledged Westmont head coach Cade Pierson. “In doubles, we had a good first game on each court, and I had a feeling it could be a good match, but then we just fell flat. Williams was a good team, but they were a team we could have competed with better.

“We played some winnable matches, and most of them could have been closer than they were.

I’m not sure why we fell flat, for some it may have been ego, for others nerves might have gotten in the way. It was just a day where we didn’t play well in doubles.

“We just had a slow time starting in singles, with a lot of our players taking about three games to adjust to their opponents. Eventually we adjusted, but even when we did, we didn’t keep the momentum. There were sparks of inspiration here and there, but we just couldn’t start a fire on any of the courts.

“I hope we can just forget this match, move past it, and get ready for Saturday.” email: sports@newspress.com

Both the men and the women return to GSAC play on Saturday in Fullerton, where they battle against rival Hope International at noon.

Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.