San Antonio - The 12th-ranked Tiger men's tennis team capped off its 2016 regular season with a 6-3 victory over #19 Whitman College on Saturday evening.
Trinity won its fourth straight match, and improved its overall record to 15-9. The Tigers also stand at 13-5 against NCAA Division III opponents. Whitman dropped to 15-8 after the loss. Trinity was scheduled to play Schreiner (TX) University earlier in the day, but rain forced cancellation of the match.
"We knew Whitman has always given us incredibly competitive matches," said Head Coach Russell McMindes. "We knew today, regardless of the circumstances, it would be no different. We knew that they were going to come out and compete, and we needed to extend matches in our favor. To wrap up the home season with a win over a ranked team is huge. That is going to give us some momentum and confidence going into the conference and postseason tournaments."
Clayton Niess and Chas Mayer won line two doubles to give the Tigers the first point of the match, but Whitman took the next two matches to take the 2-1 lead after doubles play. Paxton Deuel and Matt Tyer were edged 9-7 at No. 1 doubles, which put Whitman in front.
Niess notched another point for the Tigers in singles, winning in straight sets to tie the match at 2-2. Eliot Guin then took the No. 6 match, and Lambeth won the third line in three sets to put Trinity ahead 4-2. Both players were able to avenge their line three loss in doubles play. The clincher came at No. 2 singles with Mayer winning a second-set tiebreaker. Deuel won a three-set No. 1 singles match, and Tyer fell in two sets at No. 4 singles as the match concluded.
"This is a team we fought before, and we always battle," said Mayer after scoring the decisive point. "We knew it would be a tough match, no matter what. Russ was preparing us for that all week. We were working really hard, and preparing for it."
Deuel and Guin are the two seniors on the Tigers team, and were recognized accordingly earlier in the day. Additionally, Deuel was presented the Jimmy Moses Tiger Award, for his team spirit and enthusiasm. The award is named for the late Moses, who played on Trinity's first scholarship tennis team in 1956.
Trinity will defend its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship next weekend, at the SCAC Tournament in Kerrville, Texas. Schreiner will host the event, which will run Friday through Sunday, April 22-24.
