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Men's tennis starts off with a pair of shutout wins

by Lola Garcia

The Grinnell men's tennis team opened their season with pair of decisive wins in Lincoln, Neb. last week. The Pioneers defeated both Nebraska Wesleyan and Willliam Jewel in two back-to-back away meets last Sunday. Grinnell took both meets seven to zero, completely shutting down the competition..

Dan LaFontaine '09 who is currently playing in the team's number one spot, soundly defeated Nebraska Wesleyan's Zac Kerr with two 6-1 sets. La Fontaine also had no trouble defeating William Jewel's number one, taking the game in two sets 6-0 and 6-1.

"The expectations for this year's team [are] very high, and to get off to a start with wins in all positions was a great start for the team," LaFountaine said.

He added that although Grinnell's team had more skill than both of the Nebraska teams, it was not why the Pioneers won both meets.

"The hard work and spirit of our team put us over the top," said Lafountaine. "We are driven to succeed."

LaFontaine also plays in the number one doubles spot with fellow rookie and roommate Nate Fox '09. Set up to live together through Coach Andy Hamilton, the duo looks like it is off to an equally successful season. The pair defeated their Wesleyan and Jewel opponents by margins of 8-3 and 8-1 respectively.

Last Sunday was one of Fox and LaFountaine's first opportunities to compete as doubles partners, giving both players a chance to find their rhythm together.

Fox thinks the two will make a good team.

"I think we work very well together," Fox said. "We have good chemistry."

Both LaFountaine and Fox hope to take the DIII Midwest Doubles Conference title together at the conference meet later this spring. LaFountaine also has his eye on the MWC singles title.

All of the Pioneers were victorious in last Sunday's singles competitions by wide margins. Although Eli Best '07 did move into a third set against Wesleyan's Nate Anderson, he finished it off with the largest margin of a single set, closing it 10-1.

"We kind of have no choice but to be happy," said Best. "Everyone played well, especially the freshmen, they showed no jitters."

Seniors Rick Fenbert and Julian West also held their own during the meets, handily finishing off each of their opponents in two sets.

The Pioneer netmen have won the last two league titles and in Hamilton's nine years as coach, the Pioneers have taken the south division title seven times.

"Our goal is definitely to win the conference title," said LaFountaine.

The men's tennis team is also looking out for the long term in terms of regional rankings and possibly qualifying for nationals.

Though LaFountaine said that national qualification this year was "feasible but not likely" the team hopes to raise its rankings within the region with an eye towards qualifying in the near future.

The men's tennis team will face their first conference opponents this weekend, when they host Beloit and Wartburg on the indoor tennis courts.

The team is feeling pretty confident after their latest performance going into Saturday's meet.

"We can't take a win for granted," said Best, "but we'd really like to stick it to them and show the rest of the conference that we've even improved over last year."

Sidebar: Men's Tennis: Season at a Glance

Pioneer tennis begins its conference season with a home meet against Beloit and Wartburg on Saturday, Feb. 18

Tennis Schedule:

Feb. 18 - Beloit at home

Feb. 18 - Wartburg at home

Feb. 24 - UW Oshkosh at Cedar Rapids, IA

March 4 - Carleton at Bloomington, MN.

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