EWU tennis teams cap off fine seasons
The Eastern Washington University men’s and women’s tennis teams are heading to the Big Sky Conference Championships this weekend with a couple of milestones already under their belts.
The men’s team finished 5-2 this season in the Big Sky and 12-11 overall to finish the regular season with the first winning conference record in school history.
The third-seeded Eagles will take on sixth-seeded Weber State (7-16, 2-5) when tournament play opens Friday morning at the Gold River (Calif.) Racquet Club, which will host both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
The winner of that match will take on second-seeded Montana (11-8, 6-1) on Saturday in the semifinals.
“The tournament is certainly open,” EWU coach Pat Dreves said. “But Sacramento State went undefeated (in Big Sky play) and had a great year, so for all of us, that is the team to beat. Obviously, our goal is to be playing the final day and then see what happens.”
Pannhara Mam, the Eagles’ top singles player and Co-Big Sky Player of the Week, secured his record-setting 14th victory of the season with a 7-6, 6-0 win over Gonzaga’s Bryce Cooper on April 17. Teammate Art Karas is one victory behind Mam, which tied the previous record for single-season victories.
The EWU women, who finished 8-14 overall during the regular season, posted a 4-3 conference record – the first winning Big Sky record earned by an Eagles women’s squad.
The Eagles earned a combined eight wins from 2001-05 before posting a 7-13 record last season. Their regular-season victory over Montana this season snapped a 24-game losing streak to the Grizzlies.
EWU junior Kasey Knox set the school record for singles wins in a season, which dates back to 1991, with 14.
The fourth-seeded Eagles will play against fifth-seeded Montana (5-16, 3-4) Friday afternoon in a first-round matchup. The winner advances to the semifinals on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of parity in our conference,” Dreves said. “Sacramento State is a heavy favorite with Northern Arizona to make it to the final, but other than that, the rest of us are relatively close.”