Unfortunately, the Red Raider tennis team has not met their GPAC expectations of competing for the title.
After a close Tuesday match, they were swept in all matches against Morningside. Despite being evenly matched against Midland and Hastings last week, the Red Raiders were unable to walk away with an overall win against either school.
“We must use our abilities and play like we are capable of,” head coach Jeff Guthmiller said.
It may be safe to say the last two losses were tougher than the first two, as NW won only one match coming from senior Valerie Robinson. This win moved Robinson into second place all-time in career singles’ wins with a 34-14 overall record.
After falling to Morningside on Tuesday night, the Red Raiders have an overall record of 4-11 and 2-4 record in GPAC play. Tuesday was also their final home match of the season.
Guthmiller continues to instill his faith and teachings into the tennis team, hoping they can end on a good note.
These tough and consecutive losses going into the final stretch of a season can easily fold a team and predict the outcome of the remaining games. Yet, the lady Raiders are still working on the things they first learned.
“We are still working on and talking fundamentals of the game,” Guthmiller said. “It’s not rocket science; we just need to be fundamental and stay aggressive in our play… We must be proactive rather than reactive. What I mean is that we need to dictate the games played rather than allowing our opponents to move us around.”
This weekend, the tennis team will be playing Concordia and Doane as they prepare to finish the GPAC season the way they started: in unison and triumph.
“I see our upcoming opponents being very competitive matches; they could easily be played down to the final match,” Guthmiller said. “If we play to our capabilities, we can enjoy some success.”
This weekend’s GPAC matches will be hosted in Omaha, Neb. NW plays Concordia tomorrow at 10 a.m. and then they will face Doane at 2 p.m.
