Photos from K-Zoo and Monmouth matches

Here are some photos from Liz Bayliss from the K-Zoo and Monmouth matches. Thanks again for taking these photos she makes it feel like we have a professional photographer at every match.

Love the hair BK

Warhawks go 1-1 in Kalamazoo over the weekend

This weekend the Warhawks made their yearly trip to Kalamazoo, MI. Last year the Warhawks left Kalamazoo with a victory over the Hornets and this year the Hornets were out for revenge.

On the way to Michigan we stopped at the Erik Scanlan's house in Libertyville, IL where Mrs. Scanlan hosted us before we embarked on our trip. A special thank you to the Mrs. Scanlan for  hosting us and letting us rest there to beat the rough Chicago traffic.

After leaving the Scanlan's house we headed off to Kalamazoo. We were lucky enough to beat the Chicago traffic and we were making great time until we hit a blizzard in Michigan. It slowed us down to a stand still for about 50 minutes, but eventually we were moving again and made it Kalamazoo in one piece. In the morning the guys were ready to play, and as the matches started it was obvious so were the Hornets from K-Zoo. In doubles the Warhawks fell behind early breaks at 1 and 2 doubles, and while both teams fought till the end their opponents were too tough and the 'Hawks lost 8-4 in both matches. At 3 doubles it was a great match up for the Warhawks as Erik Scanlan and Kevin Friend dominated the net to win 8-3. After doubles the Warhawks were down, and they knew they were going to have to pick up their level in singles.  Every match the Warhawks fought as hard as they could, but the Hornets never made any errors and that proved to be the difference in all the matches. The Warhawks played hard until the end, but just couldn't come up with a win in singles, and lost the match 8-1. In the exhibition matches the Warhawks finished 3-0 with Kevin Friend and Cam Laktash picking up great singles victories, and Cam Laktash and RJ Rademacher winning at 4 doubles.

After the Kalamazoo match the guys were down, but they had to pick themselves up quickly to defeat an up and coming team in the central region, the Monmouth College Scots. The Scots came out in doubles and played very well. Andy McGlashen and Andrew Bayliss played one doubles for the match against a very strong team. They were pushed the whole way, and ended up pulling the match out in a tiebreaker. Erik Scanlan and Kevin Friend dominated at 3 doubles, and Cam Laktash and RJ Rademacher had a tough match at 2 doubles. They went down an early break, and could never get it back losing the match 8-6. In singles the Warhawks didn't lose a set and rebounded very well from the loss earlier in the morning winning the overall match 8-1.

The Warhawks are now 6-3 on the season and will take this week off from competition as we host our Alumni Event on Saturday March 3rd at noon at Four Lakes Athletic Club in Elkhorn, WI. The Warhawks next date of competition will be March 10th against lake Forest College and Carthage College at Four Lakes Athletic Club in Elkhorn, WI.

Photos from Augustana, Chicago, and Green Bay Matches

 

UWW goes 2-1 this weekend including win over #11 U-Chicago

This weekend the Warhawks took on some tough opponents. First up on Friday at Four Lakes Athletic Club the Warhawks took on the Vikings of Augustana College. Augustana has been a tough team in the past and we knew it wouldn't be an easy match. 1 and 2 doubles played exceptionally well and took their matches quickly. Three doubles though was another story. Freshman Cam Laktash and Junior RJ Rademacher played an amazing match and ended up taking it in a tiebreaker. This match was intense throughout and it helped fuel the Warhawks in their singles matches. The Warhawks played tremendously well in singles losing no more than 6 games in any match.

After a great win on Friday the Warhawks regrouped to face Chicago and Green Bay Sunday. The 'Hawks left Whitewater on Saturday and stopped at the Bayliss's house on the way to Green Bay. We enjoyed some college basketball, pool, ping pong, and pizza. It was a great way to relax before the Sunday matches. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Bayliss for hosting us.

After our stop in Sheboygan we continued on to Green Bay. The next morning the guys woke up and were ready for a great match. As always against Chicago it was a very intense match with a lot of fireworks from both sides. The doubles started off great for the 'Hawks with 1, 2, and 3 doubles all winning very tough matches. After doubles both teams huddled together, and prepared for singles. We knew that this was Chicago's strength and the guys knew they were going to have to play great if they wanted the win. As the singles matches started Chicago showed that they weren't going to go down so easy. They ended up taking the first set at 2, 4, 5, and 6 singles including blowouts at 2 and 6 singles. McGlashen and Balkin were playing great in their matches as they both took the first set.

Scanlan and Osborne went down early breaks in their second sets, but at 3 singles McGlashen was up 3-0 in the second after winning the first set when he broke a string. He was out of rackets, so he borrowed a few from Scanlan, but he just wasn't the same. I rushed quickly to string his racket, but he lost 3 out of the 4 games before the racket was done, and more importantly lost his momentum. As this was happening at 3 singles, Bayliss and Klein were putting on comebacks of their own at 2 and 6 singles respectively. As McGlashen dropped his second set 6-4, Bayliss took his 7-6(3), and Klein took his 6-3. At one singles Balkin was involved in a slug fest, and as some of the matches were entering third sets he found himself knee deep in the second set.

Eventually Osborne and Scanlan fell to their opponents in two sets at 4 and 5 singles respectively. After these matches Whitewater lead the match 3-2, with 2, 3, and 6 singles heading into a decisive third set, and Balkin still fighting in his second set. We needed at least 2 of these matches for the win, and everyone of the players on the court was trying the hardest to be the player to help push us over the edge. With Klein up 3-0 at 6 singles his opponent was assessed a game penalty, and then at 4-0 the match was defaulted giving Whitewater the 4-2 lead. At this point McGlashen was down a break in his match, and showing signs of fatigue. Just two courts away Bayliss was on-serve in the third set with the momentum on his side. Right in the middle of the two courts was Balkin who had just forced his second set into a tie breaker. At this point the attention turned to him to see if he could close out the match for himself and the team. It was a great tiebreak as each player had match point after match point, and the other just wouldn't go away. In the end Balkin's opponent won the tiebreak 13-11, and forced that match into another third set. The attention then turned to Bayliss who was serving for the at 5-3 for not only his match but the team win. He unfortunately got broken as his opponent was not going to go away that easy. At 5-4 he started off strong winning the first three points to give him 3 matches points. His opponent saved the first, but on the second match point Bayliss was just too strong. His win pushed Whitewater over the edge 5-2. McGlashen and Balkin ended up falling in their third sets to make the final match score 5-4.

This is quite possibly one of our best victories since I joined the program 6 years ago. It was a total team effort from everyone playing, to the guys in the stand, even the fans helped us in this victory. This is a fine example of what I think this team can accomplish this year, as long as well go into all our matches with this attitude.

After the thrilling Chicago victory the men turned their attention to D-1 Green Bay. At the beginning of doubles it was obvious many of the guys were running on fumes, but that didn't stop them from turning in great efforts. 1 doubles and 2 doubles went down early breaks, and even though they fought hard the whole way they could never dig themselves out of those holes. At 3 doubles Whitewater played strong the whole match and took it in a tiebreaker 8-7(6). This was a great win for Scanlan and Friend against strong competition. The Warhawks then entered singles down 0-1 because of D-1 rules where the doubles only count for 1 point. Green Bay's heavily foreign team showed their strength against the Warhawks in singles taking all but one first set in every singles match. The lone Warhawk to go into the second set ahead was Mitch Osborne at 4 singles. Mitch was playing lights out and looked to continue his strong play in the second set. The only Warhawk to win his second set was McGlashen at 3 singles. 3 and 4 singles moved into decisive third set breakers. Both McGlashen and Osborne fell in their third set breaker leaving the 'Hawks with a 0-7 loss. Here are some videos of the doubles play.

Even with the loss on the weekend the 'Hawks are feeling pretty good. We have had great efforts against strong teams, and I am excited for the rest of the season. The next week the 'Hawks travel to Kalamzaoo, MI to take on Kalamazoo College and Monmouth College.

Photos from Luther, UW-Oshkosh, and Wheaton (IL) matches

Thanks again to everyone who came out to support the team, and a special thanks to Liz Bayliss for these amazing photos. We hope to see all of our fans tomorrow as we take on Augustana College at FLAC in Elkhorn, WI at 12:00pm