Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Sports

Corinna Keeling/Collegian photographer Jason Jeschke, sports managment junior, jumps for the ball at the tennis meet against Kansas Wesleyan. [Click to enlarge]

Before the match, you can probably find Lance Williams listening to music trying to relax and focus on the playing he's about to do. This kind of mental preparation will be key for the business administration senior in the upcoming weeks. The teams have just one more match before the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Quarterfinals on April 22 and 23. They will travel to North Newton tomorrow to take on Bethel. "Bethel will be tough," John Paulin, head tennis coach, said. "I don't know exactly where they are in the KCAC, but I have a hunch that they're up there." Quarterfinals of the KCAC tournament will be Tuesday for the women and Wednesday for the men. Paulin predicts that the women's match will be held at home and that the men will probably travel to play. It will be announced by Monday. Lauren Pettey, business administration senior, said, "Because the season goes by so quickly, it is easy for KCAC competition to sneak up on us. We just need to stay focused and give it our all these last couple weeks." The women are currently ranked second in the KCAC with a 4-1 record going into the Bethel match today. They won three matches in the last week. On April 10 they beat McPherson College 9-0, then turned around to beat Tabor College 7-0 on April 12. On April 14 the women shut out Kansas Wesleyan University 9-0. The men are a little further down in the rankings, with a 2-2 KCAC record. They grabbed their first conference win against McPherson College, winning 5-4 on April 10. They lost to Tabor College 5-2 on April 12, but then came back strong two days later to defeat Kansas Wesleyan University 6-3 on April 14. The teams as a whole pride themselves on having good attitudes and interchangeability. Williams said, "We are able to plug people into any doubles team and singles position. Everyone has the potential to take home the game ball." Pettey said, "On the court, we are very focused on the game and respectful of the other team. We keep our feet moving and don't give up even when we are down by a lot. "Off the court, we are very supportive of one another and cheer each other on," said Pettey. Paige Carswell is a freshman majoring in journalism. You may e-mail her at paige.carswell@sckans.edu.

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