Men's Tennis | 3/27/2015 9:44:00 PM
BALTIMORE – The Coppin State men's and women's tennis teams enjoyed a pair of victories over Maryland Eastern Shore Friday afternoon. The men triumphed 4-0 while the women earned a pulsating 4-3 decision over the Hawks in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) matches.
This was the home opener for both teams. They made the most of the friendly confines by coming with big serves and clutch strokes to earn their first victories of the season. Both teams have battled their share of adversity, most notably a lack of bodies, which has usually put the Eagles in a disadvantage before many matches started.
However, for one sunny and windy afternoon, the Eagles put aside all of that and focused on beating UMES. On the men's side,
Patrick Thomas,
Reginald Robinson,
Gavin Lewis and
David Ogan all rolled to easy straight set victories. Robinson and Lewis didn't lose a point as they won by 6-0, 6-0 scores. Ogan won his match 6-0, 6-1.
"It was good to finally get a win," Thomas said. "The main thing today was staying focused especially playing at No. 1 and keeping my shots consistent. It's always tough playing in these conditions. My player had a pretty good serve and I had to be on my toes at all times."
For Lewis, this was his third singles victory this season. He's won three of his last four singles matches and leads the Eagles in wins this season.
The women's match was where the real drama was. Coppin State won the first three singles matches behind its top triumvirate of
Carentxa Goede,
Ashley Milo and
Miranda Taylor. Milo and Taylor won their singles matches by identical scores of 6-1, 6-2.
With the Eagles losing at No. 4 singles, not having a fifth or sixth player and a third doubles' team, they entered the doubles competition needing to win both matches to claim the match.
Goede struggled early, trailing, 3-1, before finding her groove and claiming the next 11 points to win 6-3, 6-0.
"The first set was really bad for me," Goede said. "Then as the match went along, I started gaining some more confidence. It feels good to get a win. I think everybody did good today and this is something we can build from."
Leave it to first-year player
Gabrielle Otero to deliver some key plays to help the Eagles. Otero, who is one of the best volleyball players in Coppin State history, was part of the winning doubles team with Goede. They won 8-2. For Otero, it was her first career tennis victory.
Milo and Taylor secured victory by claiming an 8-3 decision at No. 1 doubles.
Otero has quickly earned the respect of her teammates. Following the win, Otero shared Sun Chips with Goede, who played a video game on her phone.
"Some aspects of tennis are the same as volleyball, but a lot of it is really different," Otero said. "I play defense in volleyball and in tennis, I use my arms more. Tennis is something else. Much respect to all the tennis players and all they do."
Coppin State will have little time to savor victory as it will return to action Saturday when it hosts Norfolk State at 10:30 a.m.
