SportsTennis

Injuries and illness infect LV lineup

Josh Martin stands ready while Sundeep Samuel backhands the ball in Saturday morning's doubles match versus Whitworth University. ULV men's tennis ended its nine-match homestand with a loss of 6-1. / photo by Amy Babin
Josh Martin stands ready while Sundeep Samuel backhands the ball in Saturday morning’s doubles match versus Whitworth University. ULV men’s tennis ended its nine-match homestand with a loss of 6-1. / photo by Amy Babin

by Brian Ortega
Staff Writer

It was a tough weekend for the men’s tennis team when it took on Whitworth College of Oregon Saturday, losing 6-1.

With illnesses and injuries being the University of La Verne’s biggest problems, the Leopards had a hard time putting wins on the board.

“We had a lot of untimely injuries that hurt our roster,” said head coach Steve Bergovoy.

Chad Rodriguez was only able to play a doubles match as he sat out his singles match due to tonsillitis.

Josh Horwitz, who normally plays No. 1 for La Verne, was still out for the week with a sprained ankle and is unsure of the date of his return.

In doubles action, the Leopards were not able to put up a win as all doubles teams took losses.

The No. 1 team of Jason Cortez and Rodriguez played an intense game but came up short as they lost the match, 8-5.

“We played well, except they didn’t make mistakes, and that’s what got us in the end,” Cortez said.

“Cortez and Rodriguez are ranked high and are looking to finish off this season strong,” Bergovoy said.

The No. 2 team of Josh Martin and Sundeep Samuel lost, 8-2.

“We didn’t play that great, and I’ve been pretty sick,” Martin said.

The No. 3 duo of Keith Watabayashi and James Muldrow were defeated, 8-2 by Whitworth.

In singles competition, No. 2 Samuel came out the only winner, 6-3, 6-1.

“Sunny did a great job,” Bergovoy said. “He normally plays No. 4 for us, but he really outplayed his opponent.”

“I had a pretty solid game,” Samuel said. “I was excited to play, and I just came out strong.”

No. 1 Cortez lost his matches, 6-0, 6-2.

No. 5 Watabayashi came up short in singles competition as well, as he lost 6-1, 6-1.

No. 6 Martin was also unable to get a point for La Verne as he lost 6-4, 6-4 in singles.

No. 4 Muldrow lost his matches by scores of 6-1, 6-4.

“Out of state competition does not compare or even come close to instate competition,” Bergovoy said. “We really use this as time to prepare for the teams in our conference. It wasn’t a happy day for us, but it is all part of a growing process.”

La Verne will take on the University of Redlands at 2 p.m., today at Redlands as a part of Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

Brian Ortega
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