Trinity Lutheran senior Drew Kerkhof returns a backhand during his No. 2 doubles match against Clarksville on Tuesday. He and Will Gausmann won their match to help the Cougars win 5-0.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
Trinity Lutheran’s Solomon Hall returns a forehand against Clarksville’s Jack Brooks during their No. 1 singles match Tuesday. Hall helped the Cougars win 5-0.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
Trinity Lutheran tennis coach Brad Emerson says the best way to overcome a close loss is to go out and dominate your opponent the next day.
The Cougars lost 3-2 at Madison on Monday afternoon, but they didn’t let that disappointment stay with them on Tuesday as they blanked Clarksville 5-0 at home.
Emerson said he liked the way his team came out aggressive against the Generals.
“It was a nice win,” he said. “We had a tough match (Monday) night that we didn’t quite come through on, so getting a victory today really was kind of a nice little ego booster for us in building up our morale. We still have a lot of things we need to work on.”
Solomon Hall improved to 4-0 in No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Jack Brooks.
Hall, in his second season playing No. 1 singles for the Cougars, said he feels like he has improved in all areas of his game.
He said he felt like he had the upper hand in his approach shots against Brooks.
“A lot of my points came from that,” he said. “After his second serve, I would come up and hit the corner. Usually, if it’s a slow second serve, I’ll come up. I haven’t been able to do that very much this year. I’ve been getting my serves in. My backhand is better.”
He said he is going to continue to work on his volleys in practice.
“Sometimes, I rush through them,” he said.
Jack Stuckwisch defeated Luke Tyler 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, and Luke Schepman was the last one off the courts as he outlasted Tavian Utrera 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 in three singles.
“Last night, we got there late and didn’t have a great warmup. Tonight, we had a good chance to warm up, so I think that was an advantage for us,” Emerson said. “We worked on a couple of things before the match, and it showed during the match that (Hall and Stuckwisch) utilized the stuff that we worked on.”
Of Schepman’s match, Emerson said, “Luke’s a battler. He’s going to come into his own. He’s going to be OK. We just have to fine-tune his game a little bit, work on his ground strokes and his positioning. He’s a competitor. He doesn’t give up. That is one thing that Luke does really well. Once he learns to get his ground strokes set and positioned well, he’ll be fine.”
In doubles, Nathan Finke and Jonathan Neawedde beat Payton Walker and Jeremiah Freeman 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1, and Will Gausmann and Drew Kerkhof topped Brody Hagan and Drake Ruppecht 6-2, 6-2.
“They played better,” Emerson said. “We still had a few things we need to work on. Our two doubles last night played really well in the first set and just kind of wilted away, and tonight, they kept the pressure on, and that was a good thing.
“One doubles team played well in the first set, stayed aggressive and then kind of had a little letdown in the second. But you know, tennis is an up-and-down roller coaster ride anyway. Those things do happen,” he said. “I’m pleased with how the doubles came out.”
At Madison, Hall and Stuckwisch won their matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
The Cougars (2-2) will play at Waldron on Thursday.