The Lawrence University’s Men’s Tennis team (Vikings) has a month left of competition before heading to the Midwest Conference Championships. The team is focused on this weekend’s competition in Illinois against Knox College, Monmouth University and Illinois College, hoping to use the momentum from their 8-1 win against St. Norbert’s College to bring back a few wins from this road trip as well.
“Getting to take it to a conference rival like that is a big confidence boost,” freshman David Brooker stated. “I think it showed in our matches against Marian.” After defeating St. Norbert’s, the Vikings shut out Marian University. Senior Brian De Corte and junior David Jumes both hat notable performances, bringing home a singles win apiece. In doubles, Jumes and DeCorte competing together, sweeping their opponents. Additionally, sophomore Bill Schuman-Kline competed with Brooker, and senior Adam Busch competed with sophomore Izaya Turenne. De Corte was named Midwest Conference Men’s Tennis Performer of the Week for his performance.
“The win against St. Norbert’s College was pretty emotional for me because Bill and I had a close match that we had to save match point in order to win,” Brooker commented. “It was nerve-racking and it was a big boost to our confidence and proved that for the rest of the year we can win close matches like that.” In Florida over spring break there was a similar match against Hamline University that resulted in a close loss, discouraging the two. Moving forwards, Brooker and Schuman-Kline will focus on taking care of business on the doubles court and picking up the last few wins before conference.
“Going into Conference, our goal is to be top four in Conference so we can play in the Team Conference Tournament,” Brooker said. “If we go out every day and take care of business, Conference will take care of itself.” Keep an eye on this doubles pair as the season comes to a close.
The season has been strong for the Vikings, with only one portion that went awry within the team. “So far, this season has been quite successful, I would say,” Brooker added. “The only portion that resembled a ‘down’ was our loss to Concordia, because I feel that we really could have pulled that one out. Just a few matches didn’t go our way, but that happens.” After that setback, the team focused on getting better, using practices to their advantages on the journey to success.
With the season winding down in a matter of weeks, the Vikings are still preforming at their best and pushing forward into the last stretch of the season. They have no intentions of quitting early when Conference is just within their grasp. The next matches after this weekend include teams from Carroll University, Lake Forest College, Grinnell College and Cornell College.
