by Kirby Boehm
This past Saturday the Capital University men’s tennis team opened up conference play against Baldwin Wallace. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Crusaders 7-2 as sophomore Jared Judson and freshmen Beau Streety recorded victories in their singles matches.
Baldwin Wallace will most likely be the toughest matchup for the Crusaders as they are currently 12-1 this year. Although the Crusaders lost the opening matchup, sophomore Gian DiMichelangelo isn’t discouraged by the loss.
“This season the lineup is really balanced and competitive; we get contributions from everyone,” DiMichelangelo said.
The Crusaders prepared for conference play by taking a spring trip to Puerto Rico, going 2-2 in the four matches. The trip not only helped the team prepare themselves for the season, but also built the experience of visiting another country.
“The trip to Puerto Rico was an amazing bonding experience,” DiMichelangelo said. “We really grew close as we all experienced visiting a new country and observing the cultural differences around us.”
The trip allowed freshmen Beau Streety and Dale Booher to compete for the Crusaders. The two freshmen recorded the only singles victories in a match against Augustana in which the Crusaders fell 6-3.
Along with the victory against Augustana, Booher won all three of his singles matches and two of his three doubles matches. These wins earned him OAC tennis player of the week earlier this month.
Going into Conference play, Booher earned the second spot in singles behind sophomore Luke Buchanan. These top seeded singles players team up as the number one doubles as well.
Buchanan is a local product of Westerville Central High School and is viewed as a great leader by his teammates.
“Luke has stepped up into a leadership role with the team,” DiMichelangelo said. “We either win as a team or lose as a team, regardless if you win your individual match.”
Embracing this mentality will be crucial as the Crusaders look to compete in the OAC. After finishing second last year and only losing one senior, the team feels they can compete for a title this year.
“From top to bottom we are very competitive with each other,” DiMichelangelo said. “The line-up isn’t as top heavy as some other schools in the league.”
As the Crusaders take aim at the top spot, they will also have to deal with the winter that has been Ohio over the recent months. The weather has affected the team already in this early season as a match against Mt. Saint Josephs was moved inside the Cap Center, where the Crusaders won 9-0.
“The weather hasn’t been ideal so far, especially after going to Puerto Rico over break” DiMichelangelo said. “But it’s something we’ll have to deal with and learn to thrive in.”
That being said, DiMichelangelo also alluded to the fact that conference matches are more likely to be rescheduled than moved inside the Cap Center.
The Crusaders’ next conference match is March 29 at home against Otterbein. The start time for this cross-town rivalry is scheduled for 1 p.m.
kboehm789@capital.edu
