Archive/HIGHLANDER

The men’s tennis team had only six victories overall this season. The first three wins came against teams such as Vanguard, College of the Desert and Riverside CC at the same tourney. The next three wins came against Weber State, Seattle and Idaho State. Aside from those victories, the men’s team struggled to find any wins against Big West rivals. The Highlanders were dominated in the Big West Championships in the first round by third seed UC Irvine, 0-4. Highlander Felix Macherez was named All-Conference Second Team in singles.  Macherez, along with his doubles partner Austin Andres, were also named to the All-Conference Second Team in doubles.

The women’s tennis team did not fare any better than the men’s team. The Highlanders won only three games in the season, with two of the wins coming against CSU Bakersfield. The other win came against the University of Portland. The team had a chance of not finishing last in the Big West conference, but lost a tight one against CSU Fullerton 3-4. At the Big West Championships tournament, the Highlanders faced off again with CSU Fullerton in a wild card match, where they lost 3-4. On March 21, sophomore Kat Saltarelli was named Big West Player of the Week, posting a 3-12 record in singles. Sophomore Jamie Raney, who was the team’s No. 1 singles player this season, was named to the All-Conference Second Team, posting a 5-12 mark in singles action.

Men’s tennis head coach York Strother will not return to coach next season. The athletic department has decided to field men’s tennis for one more season, after looking into a proposal to cancel the program and replace it with women’s sand volleyball.