KNOXVILLE, Tn- The Royals Men's tennis team finished up their fall season this past Friday as they defeated the Owls of Mississippi University for Women 6-0 for their third straight win, bringing their record to 4-4.
The Royals success in the final stretch of the season came as the doubles teams started to solidify. Over the final three matches, the Royals were 9-0 in doubles. The doubles dominance was led by the tandem of Freshman Jacob Keeling and Junior Daniel Orahood who combined for a record of 6-2 throughout the fall. In singles, the Royals showed off their depth throughout the season with all 9 on the men's roster picking up at least one victory. Singles wins were again led by Freshman Keeling who had 5 and was then followed by fellow freshmen Jaden Talley and Cam Jones who both had 3.
Coach Hale praised his team on their fight and hard work throughout the fall. "I am very pleased with how our fall came together. Whenever you have freshmen getting so much court time, there is bound to be a learning curve, but Jaden, Cam, and Jacob really played well and developed from the beginning to end. I think a lot of that development can be attributed to some of the leadership we saw through some of our returners. Daniel really took Jacob under his wing in doubles, Ian and Cade were great helps to me in establishing a team culture, and Gerett was able to bond with the incoming players right away and help mentor them. You also had Stephen and Kaden modeling how to battle through injuries but still support the team and do what you can every day. All in all, I think we have a great foundation for the AAC challenge we are going to get at the start of next semester!"
The Royals will now enter their offseason until they pick back up in the spring. Their next match will be at home against Tennessee Wesleyan University.