Shelby Bradley | Sports Co-Editor
The Buena Vista University (BVU) men’s tennis team competed in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Individual Tournament over the weekend, Sept 25-27, hosted by Wartburg College.
The Beavers had two men in the Flight A singles including juniors Jesse Brace and Chris Haberman. Sophomore Grant Wright and freshman Steven Will played in Flight B singles while junior Will Connelly and freshman Stephano Mizero were in Flight C singles.
Brace fell to Anders Jensen of Luther early in the first round. Haberman proceeded with a first-round bye but fell in the second round to Coe College’s Chad Moklestad.
“Unfortunately, my day did not start out the greatest in singles with what I thought was a disappointing loss. It was just one of those times where anything you do or try just doesn’t go your way,” Haberman said.
In Flight B, Will made a deep running but fell short losing to Jake Smith of Luther in the third round. Wright was referred to as the comeback story by first-year head coach Brett Groen. In his first round of singles against Justin Sauter of Coe, Wright was down 0-6, 0-5 but came back to win in 3 sets.
“That kind of ability to change your game plan is rare, and a great quality to have,” Groen said.
In Flight C Mizero proceeded to the second round beating Keenan Lee of Coe but later fell to Riley Michael of Loras. Connelly fell early in the first round to Simpson’s Cody Goeser.
“I felt great as a whole about how we competed this weekend. Despite not sending anyone to nationals, the entire team had bright spots throughout the day,” Groen said.
On the doubles side, Haberman and Brace paired up in Flight A beating the number one doubles team from Central in the first round. However, they fell in the second round to a Luther pair. Will and Wright also teamed up to win their first round in Flight B doubles and unfortunately fell to yet another Luther pair.
“Despite Chris’s struggles in singles, he was able to bounce back 180 degrees and serve some of his best of the year in doubles knocking off the #1 team from Central,” Groen said.
With the fall season at an end, the spring season is the new focus for this team. Coach Groen believes that consistency will be key once spring matches hit. Haberman is hoping to make a difference for the team with his play.
“This weekend was a good precursor to what Jessie and I can do as a doubles team starting in the spring,” Haberman said.
The Beavers’ spring season will begin Saturday, Feb 13 against Midland University. They will open up IIAC play Saturday, Mar 5 against Dubuque with their home opener.
Photo by Taylor Staab
