by Amanda Egan
Staff Writer
The men and women’s tennis teams at The University of La Verne have opened their seasons notably winning matches and creating a new name for the program.
The men have set a goal to achieve third place in conference and they have started their journey in a promising way.
“We are hoping to crack the top three this season and pull some upsets,” player Jason Cortez said.
The team has begun with an undefeated record that adds up to three convincing wins.
The Leopards sat conference opponent Occidental down after defeating them 6-1 and dominating the entire match.
Josh Horwitz and Chad Rodriguez came up big for the Leopards, contributing singles and doubles defeats.
Kiran Asola and Cortez did the same for ULV.
In a non-conference match ULV handled Caltech comfortably to gain their second win.
Finally La Verne faced Caltech again for a conference match and gained the win, 5-2.
The tennis team has many talented athletes.
Among them is No. 1 singles and doubles player Horwitz who had the best doubles record in conference last year with the help of his partner and team captain Rodriguez.
“They are two of the best doubles players in Southern California,” head coach Steve Bergovoy said.
Bergovoy said that each player has their own unique style and personality that adds to the camaraderie of the team.
The women have starred in five matches thus far including two conference matches and have accomplished one win.
“We are a young team as far as experience and way overmatched,” Bergovoy said.
“But this is the best women’s team we have ever put together,” he added.
ULV faced Division II Cal State San Bernardino and were defeated 9-0.
“We welcomed the challenge of a Division II school and figured it was good competition,” Bergovoy said.
They were handed a stream of confidence after a much-awaited win over Caltech 8-1 in a non-conference match.
ULV struggled in later matches as Occidental and Biola rolled over them 9-0.
In the second conference match the team was defeated by Caltech 8-1.
“We have come a long way and plan on doing heavy recruiting in the future,” Bergovoy said.
The tennis teams’ next match will be at 2 p.m. today.
