The Seattle University Men’s Tennis team finished out their season after falling 4-1 against University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament this past weekend. The team was riding a three match win-streak that finished off the regular season, including a victory against UTRGV in their final conference competition. Still, the team was ready for a tough matchup.

In spite of his team’s less than ideal result, head coach Adam Reeb commends UTRGV for their strong play.

“We knew it would be a battle again with UTRGV as our regular season match was so close. I think we didn’t play our best match this time. You have to also give UTRGV a lot of credit too, they played a good match,” coach Reeb said. “It was a combination of both us not playing our best, and them playing well that resulted in the match not going our way.”

Freshman Colton Weeldreyer, who led the Redhawks with 16 overall wins, similarly feels that the opposing Vaqueros brought their “A” game.

“They came out with more fire. They wanted revenge from the last time we played them. I am sure that they did not want to lose twice, especially during WAC finals,” he said.

The WAC tournament was held in Mesa Arizona, where the temperature surpassed 100 degrees, serving as a stark contrast to the gloomy Seattle skies that the Redhawks are accustomed to.

“Seattle is pretty cold, obviously. Going from a cold place to Arizona where it cracked 100 for most of the tournament was something we had to adjust to. Not making excuses, but it was definitely a factor,” Weeldreyer said.

Although the season may not have ended as the Redhawks had hoped, it proved to be a successful one.

“I think it was a good season for sure. We won double digit matches again for the third year in a row, and we won more regular season matches in the WAC than we’ve ever won before. We’re making progress and getting better as a program every year,” Reeb said.

Looking forward to what he and his teammates will build on this offseason, Weeldreyer sees a lot of potential for raising their games to the next level.

“I have to play more of an aggressive game and am always trying to play smarter. As a team, we are not lacking anything and have the talent to take what we have learned this season to the next,” Weeldreyer said. “It’s a long, hard schedule starting in September, but we will be ready to pick back up by then.”

Although the season has officially finished, the Seattle U Men’s Tennis team is already preparing to hit the court this fall.

Jordan may be reached at
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