BYUH men, women net big wins over top teams
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Brigham Young University-Hawai'i men's and women's tennis teams will likely be at the top of the rankings next week after sweeping four top Division II programs at the West Florida Spring Fling in Florida this weekend.
It will be the first time the men's and women's tennis teams from the same school in Division II will be No. 1 at the same time.
The BYUH women, ranked No. 2, (20-0) defeated top-ranked Armstrong Atlanta State, 5-1, and the already top-ranked men (21-0) blew past No. 2 Valdosta State (Ga.), 5-1 during the eight-team tournament.
"In all reality, these are the best men's and women's teams we ever had represent our school," said BYUH head coach David Porter.
The Seasider women also defeated No. 5 West Florida (9-0), No. 9 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) (9-0) and Valdosta State (5-0). The men also beat No. 6 West Florida (7-2), No. 7 Ouachita Baptist (6-1) and No. 16 Armstrong Atlanta State (5-0).
Though Porter couldn't predict just how well both teams would do this season, he said this year's men's and women's squads were better than last year's teams, which went into the national tournament 28-2 and 33-0, respectively.
"I knew if we played well, we had a chance to have a real successful season," he said. "Then again, you never know what the competition is like, and it's really hard to predict how well you'll do."
The Seasiders play host to the Pacific West Conference Tournament Thursday through Saturday in La'ie. On the men's side, conference rival Hawai'i Pacific University is ranked in the top five nationally. The Seasiders are up for the challenge of facing HPU.
"The women are pretty confident and it's not going to bother them if they're the team to beat or not," Porter said. "The guys realize Hawai'i Pacific is certainly as good as team as any we've played this year, including this road trip, so it's going to be a great match. They're looking forward to that. They'll be up for it."
HPU's women, ranked 16th, defeated No. 6 Abilene Christian, 5-4, at the 13th annual Xenia Anastasiadou Memorial Tournament yesterday in Pomona, Calif. They face No. 4 Barry University (Fla.) today for the tournament title.
Sweeping four top-caliber teams on the road has boosted the Seasiders' confidence going into the tournament, Porter said. The coach, however, cautioned that there are still areas of the game both teams still need to work on; areas that could affect their performance in regionals next month. (BYUH may play host to the regionals depending on their records at the end of the regular season.)
"My feeling is most of the game is played from the waist down and the neck up," Porter said. "We still need to work on footwork and recovery, the way we play big points, our mental toughness, our shot selection, how to play under pressure.
"Right now the ranking is saying you had a good week. What really matters is (how we do) in a month."
