The Creighton Bluejays Men’s Tennis team continued their hot start to the season at home this past weekend. They hosted a doubleheader, playing Pratt Community College and Midland University. The Bluejays were able to stay undefeated at home defeating Pratt 6-1 and handling Midland with a decisive 7-0 victory. This brought the Bluejays overall record to 5-1 and improved their home record to 4-0.
“This was a match that on paper we should be coming out on top but those are often the toughest matches,” Senior Ethan Neil said. “That is a really good team and they provided a lot of really good matches for us.”
“I thought they played really well…everybody stepped up to the plate and played really composed,” Assistant Coach Matthew Lanahan said. “Everybody seemed to click really well. There’s a lot of fight out there and everyone executed the game plan.”
The first match of the day included a lot of close sets and some close victories. However, the Bluejays were able to come out ahead whenever the score got close. The Bluejays took two out of three doubles matches, winning both with a score of 6-4. The Bluejays were also able to win five out of the six individual matches. Four out of those five wins came in straight sets for the Bluejays, but very few sets came by a large margin.
“I think it’s a preparation thing,” Lanahan said. “We have a lot of juniors and seniors so they’re seasoned and they’ve been through it all. They understand the game well and have a lot of heart. These guys all cheer each other on really hard…so it helps to bring that energy to compete at the next level when it gets tight and the matches get close.”
One of the most entertaining matches of the day came in the number six singles match against Pratt. Senior Ethan Neil was able to get the close win for the Jays as the match came down to a decisive third set following a tough second set where Neil lost in a tiebreaker. This did not phase him as he recovered to win the third set to take the match.
“I had my team there and they were cheering for me…so they’re able to help me kind of ease the pressure,” Neil said. “I just wanted to have fun out there and keep working things. So, by giving myself one or two things to work on and talking with my teammates, [I was] able to stay loose.”
The second match of the day for the Bluejays went similarly with two wins in doubles matches and winning all six singles matches. Five of those six victories came in straight sets for the Bluejays as they defeated Midland with an overall score of 7-0.
In addition to the importance of getting two victories early in the season, this was also a very significant milestone for Assistant Coach Matthew Lanahan. Lanahan is a former player for the Bluejays and these two matches were the first matches he has ever coached for the Bluejays.
This was also an important day for Junior Yuma Daijima. The Bluejays were without Alejandro Gandini for both matches today due to injury. Gandini normally plays the number one singles matches for the Bluejays, so without him, Daijima had to step in and play in the number one spot for both matches. However, he met the challenge head-on and won both matches in straight sets.
“I was just really impressed with his mentality,” Lanahan said. “We all know that he can play at such a high level and that he’s a great player. He handled the situation of playing [in the number one spot] really well and he looks like he was fit for it. With [Alejandro] and Yuma, it is like we have two number ones. If they continue to play that good, then we’re in a good spot.”
The Bluejays season will continue next Saturday when they head to Des Moines, Iowa for a showdown with the Drake Bulldogs. The match is slated to start at 2 p.m.