Wildcat Men's Tennis Alumni: My Site News: Rick Hauchman ECHHS Class of 1999 @ Appalachian State
Rick Hauchman ECHHS Class of 1999 @ Appalachian State
| Men's and women's tennis both fall in SoCon Tourney
James Nix The Appalachian State University men's and women's tennis teams were both eliminated in the 2001 Southern Conference (SoCon) Tennis Championships held in Charleston, S.C., this past weekend. The fifth-seeded Mountaineer women (8-11, 4-5 SoCon) were defeated in the semifinal round by the top-seeded Furman University (FU) Paladins while the sixth-seeded men (8-12, 3-5 SoCon) fell in the quarterfinal round to the third-seeded East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Buccaneers. In the first round of the tournament, the ASU men shut out the eleventh-seeded Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Keydets 5-0. In doubles, Mountaineer teams of Doug Ormsby/Ben Shuster and Robbie Ormsby/Rick Hauchman dominated the court, winning 8-2 and 8-1 over their VMI opponents. These two early victories gave ASU the doubles point, allowing the team of Dan Holman and Craig Rice to end their match early. The singles matches followed the same pattern as doubles with Hauchman and R. Ormsby winning easily in the bottom of the lineup. Rice and Shuster both won their matches quickly, giving ASU the win. In the second round loss to ETSU, Holman lost an easy 0-6 first set to Gustavo Gomez but then fought hard in the second set, losing 6-7. Rice lost a hard match at the number two spot 4-6, 3-6 and D. Ormsby lost his match 2-6, 3-6. These three wins, along with the doubles point, gave ETSU the victory. The Bucs went on to the championship round where they were defeated by Furman. "We played pretty well," said Shuster. "We just couldn't pull out any matches to win." To reach the semifinal round, the ASU women first had to get through fourth-seeded University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Moccasins. The Mocs earned the doubles point by sweeping the ASU doubles teams. In singles, the Mountaineers retaliated by winning all four matches in the middle of the line-up. Appalachian State's Tonya Eberhart won 7-5, 6-1 at the number two spot. Allison Lane, Jennifer Fayad and Elena Berger followed, defeating their opponents 6-2, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3, and 6-4, 6-2. "We all lost our singles matches the first time we played (Chattanooga)," said Berger. "We just completely turned it around this time." In the semifinal round, the Paladins swept the Mountaineers in doubles to receive the point and then continued to do the same in singles, leaving several matches unfinished. "We played against (Furman) better than the first time we played them this year," said Berger. "We were more refreshed this time. We'll get them one year." Furman went on to earn its fourth straight SoCon Championship, defeating the College of Charleston Cougars. A few days before the SoCon Tournament, the doubles team of Holman and Rice was named to the 2001 SoCon all-conference team. The pair, who played number one doubles had a record of 12-7, 7-2 SoCon. Holman and Rice are both graduating this year, so it will be up to other members of the team to step up next year. "It's gonna be tough; they're good leaders," said Shuster. "Hopefully someone will fill in their shoes." |
Men's Tennis looks for late season success
James Nix
The Appalachian Online
(archives 2000-2001)
published March 27, 2001
The members of the Appalachian State University men's tennis team hope to put their 3-8, 1-5 record behind them as they move into the last stretch of the season.
"We've played the toughest teams already," said ASU coach Bob Lake. "We're getting better, so we should have a good rest of the season. We have eight matches left, and hopefully we can win six out of those eight. That's what I would really like to see."
Five of the next eight matches will be played in Boone, giving ASU the home court advantage.
Lake hopes that the tough competition will better prepare his team for the Southern Conference Tournament in April.
"We're playing better going into the tournament," said Lake. "If we build up some confidence I think we'll do some damage."
The Mountaineers most recent loss was to East Tennessee State University (ETSU) on Sunday. The Bucs (5-7, 2-1) won 5-2.
To start the match, ETSU won two of the three doubles matches. Doug Ormsby defeated Roberto Fernandez 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 at number three to give the Appalachian men's team its first point.
Craig Rice and Dan Holman fell at number one and two respectively, along with Ben Shuster and Robbie Ormsby at four and five.
Rick Hauchman was the only other Mountaineer to win.
ASU faced an equally tough opponent on Saturday when it lost to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) 1-6.
The Mocs (9-6, 5-2) won all but the number four singles position, where Shuster defeated Fungai Munjanja 7-6, 6-4. In doubles, Holman and Rice defeated Jason Ontag and Jesse Koti 9-8.
Both matches ASU played this past weekend were well played and could easily have gone either way according to Lake. "Even though we lost this weekend, we proved we could play," said Lake. "That's huge."
Other recent matches ASU has had include a 0-7 loss to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (9-5), a 7-0 victory over the Virginia Military Institute (8-5, 0-3), and a 1-6 loss to Furman University (11-6, 5-0).
ASU's next match is today at the University of North Carolina at Asheville
