Men’s Tennis edges out Messiah 5-4
Junior Dave Musser won both his matches against Messiah on Saturday.
(Photo courtesy of David Sinclair, GCC&M)
By Kayla Jones and Claire Aljian, Contributing Writers
The men’s tennis team is at it again, kicking off the season with a great 5-4 victory against Messiah College last Saturday. The team rose to a 2-1 lead after the doubles round and was able to then capture three of their five single matches.
While the team has only had ten days of good practice, juniors Dave Musser and Wesley Craft have worked hard together, taken charge and led the team with a 8-4 win as the first doubles team. Sophomores Wiley Vehslage and Devin McVeigh also had a great win, defeating the other team 8-2 and winning in the No. 3 spot.
The doubles teams ended victorious and the singles also showed great strength. Dave Musser, a junior, was able to win his singles match in which he stepped up to defeat Mike Brookhart (6-0, 6-3) at the top flight. Meanwhile, first-year Christian Deschapelles played at the third position and was able to secure a solid victory after leading from the beginning of game and ending with a 6-1, 6-3 win. At the sixth spot, sophomore Kevin DeRosa also proved his stronger skillset and newfound wisdom that comes with the sophomore title, with a 6-4, 6-3 win.
While the team was triumphant, Coach Pfitzinger professed his slight disapproval on their close victory, and said that the players would agree. “Right now we’re just feeling our way out… we didn’t have an accurate lineup again Messiah”.
Despite this, he is extremely proud of his players, both old and new. Pfitzinger knows that the team has plenty of unlocked potential in store for the rest of the season.
Coach Pfitzinger also expressed that he and the team view the fall season as a pre- season for springtime. With the team still coming back from their summer vacation and the short fall season well on its way, they all know that their real challenge will be in the spring.
As the team prevails and the promising first-years are combined with experienced upperclassmen, the future begins to look especially bright for the men’s tennis team. Michael Hartnett, a first-year, conveyed that the overall atmosphere that the team creates has not only helped bring them all together, but greatly helped him transition into the next chapter in his life. “It’s been very welcoming, the older kids make it easy to adjust.” With their dedication to the sport, spirit, and togetherness, the men’s tennis team is on the path to amazing success.
As the returning athletes are striving to get better and exceed last year’s expectations, Coach Pfitzinger noted, “We have a lot of talented first-years – whether they will reach their potential or not is a questions we can not answer, but we have the talent there.” Releasing this potential all depends on whether this year’s first-years are willing to work just as hard, if not harder, than their upper- classmen teammates.
With the talent and experience of the upperclassmen combined with the favorable success of the first-years, the men’s tennis team should be in for an exciting and victorious season.
The men’s tennis team has an exciting game against Mt. St. Mary’s on October 3, 2014 in Maryland and will be playing for victory once again.
