After making history last season, with both tennis teams in the conference championship, the men and women tennis teams still want more.
The men started their season Saturday morning against the Baylor Bears. The Panthers’ team consisted of Andy Narido, Nicolas Bateman, Jose Garcia, Jeremy Hubb, and Michael Armstead. The Panthers played to their potential, but did not find their rhythm, and went down in a shutout. On the next day of competition, the men had their first home game against Southeastern Louisiana. The Panthers experienced another loss, but this time around they had some success with the singles and doubles matches. Andy Narido and Nicolas Bateman won their doubles match, 8-6, and Michael Armstead won his singles match.
The young yet experienced Lady Panthers took on Lamar University Saturday afternoon. For the match, the Lady Panthers’ roster included Samantha Cantu, Melissa Guerrier, Antoinette Majors, Kori Linzie, Traci Quan, and Bianca Simpson. With new recruits and transfers, the Lady Panthers were new to the higher level of play. With frustration and nerves asserting a role into their play, the Lady Panthers opened their season with a loss. The next day, the Lady Panthers met Louisiana Tech. The Lady Panthers proved that they can get better one match at a time. In the singles competition, tough play from Guerrier and Majors brought their match down to the wire. In the end, the Panthers received another loss.
After the games, head coach John Cochran said, “The teams played well, and I could see the players getting better. It was a new level of competition, so to some, it was a wake-up call, but when the SWAC round-up comes around we will be ready.”
The Panthers now will travel to Dallas Saturday to face Southern Methodist University. The Panthers’ next home game will be against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Tuesday, Feb. 5 2 p.m. at the tennis courts behind the William “Billy” J. Nicks field house.