Laying It On The Line
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Marcela Bayon has seen a beginning like this before.
This time, she hopes the ending will be a little different for her and the rest of the Emporia State women’s tennis team.
During her freshman season, Bayon and ESU defeated Northwest Missouri State in the regular season only to lose to the Bearcats in the Regional finals.
Last season, the Lady Hornets once again advanced once step from Nationals but lost to the Bearcats.
On March 17 of this year, ESU took down Northwest in Maryville, Mo., dominating in an 8-1 victory.
Still...
“We don’t,” Bayon said, “want to be too confident.”
It’s solid advice for the ESU women, who know they will be on the brink of Nationals once again if they can put it all together at the end of the season.
“The women have the talent and experience,” ESU coach John Cayton said. “Now, it’s just a matter of working hard and having the desire to win.”
The Lady Hornets will rely heavily this year not only on senior leadership from Lacey Luina and Karly Schultz, but also on their talented doubles teams, which give them the potential to win the first three matches at every meet this season.
Luina and Natalie Villaflor match up at the No. 1 doubles spot, while Bayon and Schultz make up the No. 2 team.
“Either of them,” Cayton said, “would be No. 1s for most schools.”
The teams have proved it so far this year, as both are a perfect 9-0. The two teams actually met in the doubles championships of last September’s North Central Regional Championships in Topeka, with Villaflor/Luina taking an 8-5 victory.
“It was weird to play them but also pretty cool for us both to be in the finals,” Bayon said.
Molly Bowman and Audrey Sherman, who make up the No. 3 team, boast a 6-2 record.
Meanwhile, Bayon already has gotten off to a hot start in No. 1 singles, going 7-1 to begin the season and also earning MIAA Player of the Week on March 20.
Villaflor (8-1) takes the No. 2 spot, followed by Luina (9-0), Schultz (8-0), Sherman (8-1) and Bowman (4-3).
The women have started the season 8-1, with their only loss coming to Nebraska-Omaha on March 3.
On the men’s side, ESU has a less experienced team, as the Hornets return only two of last year’s top six players.
“We’re working on getting more of a winning attitude and just changing the perception of ourselves and out expectations,” Cayton said. “We need to expect success.”
ESU has been led by No. 1 singles player Julian Rios, who has posted a 5-2 singles record this season. He picked up the men’s only victory against Northwest Missouri State on March 17 — a 7-6, 7-6 triumph over Daniel Isleto.
Though the men sit with a 6-4 record, Rios said many of the early meets were played under difficult conditions.
“Our matches outdoor have all been in cold weather, and the weather makes everyone equal,” Rios said. “The person who wins then is the one who adjusts to the weather.
“We’ve got to get tough mentally, so when there’s good weather, we’re ready.”
Junior Nathan Mai has taken the No. 2 spot, with Cayton calling him a “competitor with a never-say-die attitude.”
Freshman Kevin Schoon mans the No. 3 position, followed by Ross Hougland, Kevin Arnhold and Branden Ewertz.
Cayton believed the bottom of the lineup could be as strong as any other team in the conference.
The women will play host to Fort Hays State at 3:30 Friday at the ESU courts, while both teams will play at home against Truman at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Emporia High courts.
Cayton said the ultimate goal for the women would be to get one of the top two seeds in the region so ESU could host the Regional.
He said the Lady Hornets’ victory over Northwest was a good start to the finish they desire.
“It’s a very good sign, especially since they did it convincingly,” Cayton said. “That’s a good indication, but they can’t rest. They’ve got to stay hungry.”