The Grand Valley State University tennis teams faced off against a tough opponent in the University of Indiana (UIndy) last weekend as the men’s team lost 0-7 and the women’s team lost 1-6.

With these losses, the women’s team is now 0-2 while the men’s suffered their first loss, bringing their record to 2-1 so far this season.

Falling short of a conference title last year, GVSU worked hard to expand their skills during the offseason. Head Coach Samantha Schall said the team’s biggest focal point is having the mental and emotional endurance to stay on the right track during the season.

“We have been focusing a lot on mental toughness,” Schall said. “Today was a big challenge for both teams, so we needed to be ready with a strong mindset.”

For the men’s singles, all six players lost in two games. Senior Sebastian Arce would play the No. 1 spot for the Lakers as he fell to his opponent 1-6 and 0-6, senior Unai Gonzalez had a close 3-6 and 4-6 loss at No. 2 and senior Sean Miller lost 2-6 in both games at No. 3.

Senior Martin Matov came close with a 6-7 and 4-6 loss at No. 4, while freshman Patricio Sepulveda (3-6 and 1-6) and senior Ignacio Morera-Lucas (1-6 apiece) lost their No. 5 and No. 6 singles matchups respectively.

Similar outcomes would result in the men’s team losing all three doubles matchups with Miller and Gonzalez losing 2-6 at No. 1 doubles, junior Freddy Cossio and senior Jack Dausman (No. 2) falling 3-6 and Arce and Sepulveda coming close in a 5-7 loss at No. 3.

Schall also said even with the tough losses like the ones against UIndy, there are many things to look forward to for the upcoming season. 

“We have a lot of potential, and that makes for a high level of motivation within the players,” Schall said. “I am excited to see what we can achieve.

On the women’s side, there were also some close matches between the Lakers and Greyhounds.

At No. 1 doubles, junior Vasileia Griva and senior Taylor Barrett lost a close 4-6 decision as freshmen Leonie Leister and Rachel Sam would be the only winners for Laker doubles with a 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot. 

However, freshmen Anna Sotreas and Amanda Diaz would lose the No. 3 doubles matchup after a close first game that finished 6-7, and then a 0-6 loss to finish the match.

Sam also went on to claim a 6-3, 7-6, straight-set win at No. 3 singles, with Schall mentioning the win was a huge boost for individual confidence and team morale.

Sam said she thought her hard work in the off season was beneficial to how she played in her matches Feb. 4.

“I’ve been able to work a lot on my forest serve percentage, as well as trying to build a stronger mentality during matches,” Sam said. “Tennis matches are long and tiring. I want to be able to feel good and focused through the entire match and increasing my first serve percentage is a way for me to gain confidence to perform well.”

The rest of the singles matches finished with Griva at the No. 1 spot (2-6 and 4-6 loss), Barrett at No. 2 (1-6, 3-6 loss), Soteras at No. 4 (6-7, 0-6 loss), Diaz at No. 5 (0-6, 4-6 loss) and freshman Ana Romero Gonzalez at the No. 6 position with a 1-6 and 2-6 match loss.

With the tougher start to the spring season in the rear view, there is a lot to look forward to as Sam spoke very highly of her confidence in the team.

“We are ready for this season, we are ready to represent GVSU, and we are ready to represent the sport of tennis and how it should be,” Sam said.

The Lakers will host two home matches against Walsh University and the University of Findlay during Feb. 10-12 with start times of 12 p.m. and 10 a.m. respectively.

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GVL / Macayla Cramer