by Nick Valentin
King University’s dual season for men’s and women’s tennis officially began this past week. The men’s team welcomed UVA-Wise for their season opener. Although having the home-court advantage, things did not go as planned for the Tornado team.
Sophomore Rhys Halcrow and junior Andre Schiabel took the court for the first doubles match against the Cavaliers. Despite their effort, the Cavaliers ultimately found victory with a score of 3-6. In the second doubles match, senior Alex Sodre and junior Mat Vieira got the nod for the Tornado team. After another hard-fought match, the Cavaliers got the better of the King University Men’s team again with a score of 5-7. Transitioning over to singles play, the struggles continued for King as they could only muster one win. Rhys Halcrow was King’s lone victor of the day as he won his singles match with scores of 7-6 (7-4) and 6-3. Four points win the game, six games wins the set, meaning the Cavaliers won more sets than King.
On the other side of the court, the King University women’s tennis team also opened their season with home-court advantage against UVA-Wise. To begin, King found victory in both doubles matches. Sophomores Deniz Aytun and Mishka Koricinova were the first two on the court to secure a win for the Tornado team with a score of 6-1. Moreover, sophomore Mireia Mas Ortega and first-year Neem Shamsuddin secured another victory for King in doubles play with a 6-4. Shifting the focus to singles play, the Tornado team won three matches as Deniz Aytun continued her success on the day with an opening win with scores of 7-6, 4-6, and 6-2. In addition, Mishka Koricinova and Neem Shamsuddin racked up victories to ultimately seal the deal for King.
This is just the beginning for both teams, as both will travel to Brescia on October 20th. One team will be seeking retribution, while the other will look to start a winning streak to set the pace for the season. Regardless, this is a promising start to the tennis season for both Teams.
For more information about upcoming games or more about students mentioned in the article see the King University athletics page here: https://kingtornado.com/
