Spring Break Day 5

Today was a free day for the Men's and Women's teams to enjoy everything Hilton Head has to offer. After some early morning hitting by some of the players we came back to the resort to see some alligators catching some sun.

We were even able to get up close and personal with one of the alligators and got this cool video.

After the fun with the alligators the teams were hanging around Hilton Head before one of our best traditions when we are in Hilton Head of going to the Crazy Crab. The Crazy Crab is one of the best seafood restaurants on the island, and it never disappoints. It's also a great meal because all the parents who come on the trip joins us, and it makes for a great atmosphere. Here are some pictures from our great meal.

After the great meal the teams retired back to their rooms at the resort to get ready for our match against DePauw University tomorrow morning at 8:30. Let's go 'Hawks!

Spring Break Day 4

On Tuesday the Men's and Women's tennis teams headed down to Brunswick, GA to take on The College of Coastal Georgia. The College of Coastal Georgia is a tough NAIA team, and it wasn't going to be easy going for the Warhawks.

On the Women's side The College of Coastal Georgia only had 4 available players so already the Warhawks started off up 3-0. 1 and 2 doubles played well, but the different formations the Coastal Georgia team played at 1 doubles made them a very tough team to beat. The Warhawks ended up splitting 1 and 2 doubles both scores were 8-2. The Lady Warhawks headed into singles up 4-1. All of the singles players played great, and non of the singles players lost more than 2 games in a set.  Due to their great singles play the Lady Warhawks ended up closing out the 8-1 victory.

On the Men's side The College of Coastal Georgia was tough throughout. It was a very windy day, but the Warhawks excelled in the conditions. The Warhawks lead 2-1 after doubles with 2 doubles falling 8-5. In singles there wasn't an easy match. Erik Scanlan at 4 singles, Brian Klein at 6 singles, and Mitch Osborne at 3 singles were the only Warhawks to win their first set. Soon though Andrew Bayliss was able to win his second set at 2 singles to force their match into a third set. Around the same time Klein was dropping his second set, and going into a third set as well. Scanlan was able to close out his second set for a straight set victory. On courts 1 and 5 Balkin and Porter were not as lucky falling in tough straight set battles.

At this point in the match the Warhawks were tied with The College of Coastal Georgia 3-3, and needed 2 of the 3 matches remaining. Klein was pulling away in the third at 6 singles. Bayliss fell down an early break in his third set, but was fighting back. Eventually he fell 4-6 in the third and this gave Coastal Georgia the 4-3 lead. Within seconds of that match ending Klein pulled out the victory in his third set 6-1. The match was tied 4-4, and it was up to Mitch Osborne who was in a dog fight in the second set. Not even a minute after Klein had tied the match Mitch pulled out the decisive victory to give the 'Hawks the 5-4 win. It was an interesting match, and a great team win. Here are some pictures from the matches.

Here's some video from the matches as well. Check it out.

For Women's Match Scores click here

For Men's Match Scores click here

Spring Break Day 3

On Monday the Men's team took on another Division I opponent, The Citadel, from Charleston, SC. This is the fourth Division I opponent Whitewater has faced this year. This was going to be a tough match-up for the Warhawks considering our normal 3 singles player, Andy McGlashen, is out with a cut toe (he sustained the injury within five minutes of being down here). Because of the injury Brian Klein and Cam Laktash were able to get a chance to play in the line-up.

In doubles The Warhawks fell behind at 1 and 2 doubles early. 3 doubles fell down an early break as well, but got it right back. The doubles competition was solid throughout, but the Warhawks ended up falling at 1 and 2 doubles. 3 doubles played great and ended up winning 8-5. Due to Division I rules however the Warhawks were down 0-1 going into singles. All of the first sets were close, but the Warhawks were only able to grab the first sets at 2 and 3 singles. Those were also the only two matches where the Warhawks were able to grab the second set as well. After all was said and done the Warhawks walked away from the courts with a 2-5 loss, but it was a good match to gain experience for those players who normally aren't in the line-up.

There were some exhibition highlights though, including Brady Porter and RJ Rademacher coming back from 1-4 down at 4 doubles to win 8-7(5). Dan Noonan fresh off his clinching victory at 6 singles over Graceland won 8-4 at 7 singles.

The Warhawk Men and Women will both take on the College of Coastal Georgia Tuesday at 3:00pm EST. Stay tuned to Twitter for match updates. Go 'Hawks!

Photos by Kara Amundson

Spring Break Day 2

The Men and Women's teams had off today to enjoy the great recreation that Hilton Head has to offer. Many of them went to the beach or the pool, but whatever they did it was outside in this great weather. The day capped off with the team's annual Mixed Doubles tournament. The finals of the tournament saw Lyle Schaefer and his partner and daughter Kalla Schaefer taking on Brian Klein and Jacqueline Vitale. In the end Lyle and Kalla came out victorious, but it was a great tournament that showed everyone a great time.

The Men play Division I The Citadel tomorrow at 9am. Stay tuned to our Twitter @uwwtennis for match updates!

Spring Break Day 1

Yesterday was our first day down here in Hilton Head Island, SC. While the trip was long (20 hours) I know the players are happy to be down here and playing some great matches.

Our first day of matches saw the Men and Women in the morning taking on Graceland University, a NAIA school out of Iowa.

For both matches we tried to get a lot of players into the line-up that normally don't get to play. Almost everyone on both teams got to play in the matches and everyone stepped up very well. All of the ladies played strong throughout, and won the match 9-0. Players who aren't normally in the line-up like Jessica Vitale, Kelsey Fitzgerald, Hillary Franzen, Kelly Foster, and Abby Day really stepped up to help out in the team win.

The Men's match was filled with a little more drama and suspense. Again the Warhawks used all of the players on the team in either singles or doubles. The men played great as well, but after the first six matches got off the Warhawks found themselves tied 3-3. The Warhawks needed 2 of the final 3 singles matches for the win. The three matches on were 2, 5, and 6 singles featuring Andrew Bayliss, RJ Rademacher, and Dan Noonan. Andrew has been in many close match situations before, but Rademacher and Noonan were new to that experience. Bayliss was the first one off the court, but he came off with a suprising loss. This meant for the Warhawks to win the match they would need to rely on players who had never been in that situation before. RJ was serving so well and he looked unbreakable. RJ came off the court a winner and tied the overall match 4-4. Dan then knew it was up to him to get the team win. He performed extremely well and looked like a seasoned vet who had been there many times before.

After the Graceland matches both teams prepared for Central Region foes Carleton College. Unfortunately the weather did not want to comply, and it began to rain. The men's match was cancelled, but the Women were able to find 3 indoor courts (the only indoor courts on the island!) to play their match, but it was postponed a few hours.

After a few hours of rest the Women's team went to the indoor courts to take on Carleton College. Because of the lack of courts it was decided the match was going to be played until completion. Doubles started out, and it was obvious both teams really wanted the win. The Lady Warhawks played tremendously well at every doubles spot, and the Lady 'Hawks were able to pull out 2 and 3 doubles. 1, 3, and 5 singles were the first three singles matches to go on and the Lady 'Hawks pulled out 2 of those 3 matches. This included a great match by Kalla Schaefer over one of the region's best players, Kathryn Schimdt. Kalla's three set win fired up the rest of the Lady 'Hawks and put them up 4-2, just one win away from the team victory. Alexandra Bayliss secured the 5-2 victory with a win at 4 singles. This was a huge match for the Lady 'Hawks over a great regionally and nationally ranked opponent. Here are some videos from the impressive win

The Men return to action Monday against Division I The Citadel, and the Women return to action Tuesday against NAIA College of Coastal Georgia.

For Men's Individual Match Scores from Graceland
Box Score

For Women's Individual Match Scores from Graceland and Carleton
Box Scores

Pictures from UWW Men and Women vs. UW-Madison

UWW Men and Women vs. UW-Madison

This past Saturday the Warhawk Men's and Women's Tennis teams headed to Madison, WI. This is always a real fun match for the Warhawks. The Badgers are our stiffest competition all year long, and it is a great way for us to test our skills.

The women played indoors at Nielsen Tennis Center while the men played on the outdoor courts. As doubles started indoors for the women you could tell the Warhawks were up for the challenge. 1 doubles ended up being the tightest doubles match for the women as Schaefer and Bayliss pushed their opponents but fell short 8-4. 2 and 3 doubles both lost as well, but seeing Schaefer and Bayliss push their opponents like they did inspired the girls to give their best efforts in singles.

Doubles on the outdoor courts were more of the same story. Both teams were battling the elements as well as each other. The Warhawks hung with the Badgers for a while but soon the Badgers pulled away at 1 and 2 doubles winning 8-3. 3 doubles found themselves in a hole early, but were working themselves back into a match before the Badgers were able to close it out 8-5. Just like with the women's match indoors that close doubles match lit a fire under the 'Hawks as they prepared for singles play.

Singles play indoors was tough from the get go. The Lady Warhawks played great, but even if they hit a great shot their opponents usually would hit a better one. With their opponents hitting great shot after great shot the Lady Warhawks still fought hard for their opponents to win every point. There were very few unforced errors throughout the day, and that is something we can be proud of. Kalla Schaefer had the closest match at 1 singles falling to her opponent 4-6, 2-6

Singles play on the outdoor courts was more of the same story. While the Warhawks played great it was very difficult to win the point against their opponents. Balls that do not normally come back, come back harder and quicker. This was a real challenge for the 'Hawks, but they were up to it. Again the elements proved to a tough opponent for both teams, but I was really happy with the way our guys fought through it. We have been practicing outside for the last two weeks, so a little wind was not going to bother us. Just as the women did inside the men fought hard the whole match, and the guys never gave up which will pay off as we continue through the season. Overall there were close scores throughout including Andrew Bayliss at 2 singles who pushed his opponent 2-6, 4-6.


Women's Box Score

Men's Box Score

Although both Men's and Women's teams lost 0-7. It was still a great match because of the tremendous fight that I saw from everyone of our players. No matter what the score was I never saw a player give up, and that is something that will pay off later in the season. Be sure to watch out for pictures that will be posted very soon.

Don't forget to follow the Warhawk Men's and Women's Tennis team on Facebook and Twitter as they head down to Hilton Head, SC for Spring Break.

Warhawk Tennis Facebook

Warhawk Tennis Twitter

Photos from UWW Men vs. Lake Forest and Carthage

Thanks again to our semi-pro photographer Liz Bayliss, and thanks to all the fans who came out to support the 'Hawks!