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Belleville, Ill. – Carlos Sanchez, head tennis coach at Lindenwood – Belleville, understands the importance of finishing strong this season and believes his players have grown as a result of learning from their experiences.
So far, both men’s and women’s teams have faced some extremely stiff competition. McKendree is currently the 18th ranked team in the NAIA (Men) and University of Missouri St. Louis is an NCAA DII team. Competing at such a high level may seem like a daunting task to a small university in its first year of competition, but Sanchez views it differently. “Every one of these players will benefit from seeing competition at that level,” Sanchez said. “Tennis is an individual sport in many respects, but in order to help your team win, you must be able to adjust. After seeing these types of teams, we feel that we will have some great success next season.”
This season, Sanchez has seen his share of ups and downs for both men’s and women’s teams, both of which are made up almost entirely of young players in their first or second collegiate years. The women currently stand with a 4-7 record, improved from 3-7 after a close victory against Lewis and Clark last week. The men have had a bit more difficult season, only winning two games after an extremely tough loss to Lewis and Clark.
Now, as there is just one more match remaining, Sanchez believes that his teams have learned what it is to play at the collegiate level and the work involved to win. “Both teams go out and compete hard in every competition,” he said. “I’m proud of them for that, especially when we play teams that are at an entirely different level than us.”
On Tuesday, LU – Belleville will play its final game of the season for both the women and the men. The match will be at home against another NCAA DII team, Maryville University. The match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at LU – Belleville.
Lynx Athletics
Lindenwood University - Belleville
bellevilleAthletics@lindenwood.edu
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| Main Phone (618) 239-6000 Main Fax (618) 277-6001 |